El Orfanato
by K.C.Dragonfly
Summary: An abandoned orphanage, a dead child, dark memories, and the games children play. Cath/Sara friendship and possibly more .
1. Prologue

**Hi guys! I am back with a rather dark little story for you all. It's based on the Spanish film El Orfanato (The Orphanage), hence the title; but with a CSI twist. I hope you all enjoy it, let me know your thoughts**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or El Orfanato, I can't even speak Spanish (or Italian for that matter; all the foreign words are translated via the internet!) **

**x x x x**

**Prologue**

"_Uno, due, tre; colpi sul muro ... uno, due, tre; colpi sul muro ... uno, due, tre ... colpi sul muro ... uno, due..." Uninhibited childish laughter filled the air. _

_The sea glistened in the distance, as she watched the little children play and frolic, in their grey pinafores, or shorts. She looked down at the folder in her hand and sighed wistfully, a sad smile on her aged face. _

"_Your friends are going to miss you, Bella." _

"_Catturato voi!"_

X x x

"Interesting..." He hummed gleefully, a vicious smirk creeping onto his face.

From the moment he noticed the dark brown file sat inoffensively on the edge of his desk he knew it was going to be a good day.

And what a good day indeed.

He picked up the phone and keyed in the number that was to become very familiar to him in the coming days and weeks. He waited patiently for that deep voice on the other end.

"It's Conrad Ecklie. And the answer is yes."


	2. Genesis

**By the by, free cyber cookies for anyone who can guess the theme of the titles :) **

**x x x x**

**Chapter 1**

"An orphanage?" Catherine asked with a raised eyebrow, drumming her fingers on the table.

"In California?" Nick asked with more enthusiasm.

"Yes." Ecklie agreed. "A criminologist from San Francisco sent the file over. They want us to go over there and investigate it."

"So, tell me again." Catherine said, sitting down. "Two trespassing teenagers found a child's skull and bones in a lake behind an orphanage. And they want us to investigate it."

"Yes." He nodded again. "Local police have conducted a brief search of the area and didn't find anything conducive, but the chief wants it thoroughly investigating. The San Francisco lab has offered their services to examine any evidence."

"Why us? Why aren't they investigating it themselves?" Warrick asked, resting his hands on the back of Catherine's chair.

"They're tapped out. They asked for us specifically." He said, smirking.

"Why Grave? Why can't Days do it?" Cath whined.

"They asked for Grave." He shrugged, dismissing the question. "Anyway, the coroner and anthropologists have estimated that the bones are twenty to thirty years old. The Orphanage closed down in 1984, though they have no record of why or what happened to the children.

"Are they thinking the kid came from the orphanage?" Sofia asked.

"They don't know; it is a likely possibility. They are trying to track down the records for who was working and living there at the time, but it's not looking good. It appears it just shut down overnight."

They all contemplated this for a moment.

"Sofia's going to give you some extra help, and take Sanders too, he wants to get out of the lab; this will be the perfect opportunity."

Nick held up his hands in a 'time-out' gesture.

"Hold up. So, they're gonna fly us to California and put us up in a hotel and we get what could be a really high profile case?" He counted off on his fingers, leaning back against the couch. "What's the catch?" Grissom, hovering uneasily in the threshold, was about to speak up but Ecklie interrupted him.

"No catch. Anyway, we leave on Thursday morning at 8am sharp, so that gives you all a few days to pack and make arrangements." He clapped his hands together gleefully, a satisfied grin adorning his face. "8am. Don't be late."

In a rabble of semi-excited chatter, the team meandered around the room and disbanded into small groups in the corridor.

Sara remained on the couch.

**x x x x**

**Future chapters will be much longer, this is just the beginning ... **


	3. Styx

**Chapter 2**

"'And the journey begins!'" Greg crooned in a bad Clint Eastwood voice, panning his handheld video camera across the group. He had decided to film the experience in case the footage could be used as evidence, or potentially (in his dreams) a movie about the case. "'500 miles; ten hours.'"

His only accomplishment so far was six pissed off colleagues.

By 7:45 the whole team was gathered outside the lab, an interesting combination of tired, intrigued and excited. No one really knew much more than what they had been told the other day, so when a battered orange coach with a faded California logo on the side swung into the parking lot they all (with the exception of Nick) just shrugged and took it in their strides . Nick turned to Ecklie and waved a disregarding hand in the direction of their ride.

"I thought we were flying?" He questioned innocently. Ecklie flashed a smarmy smile and followed the group aboard, leaving the disappointed Texan stood alone. "We're not flying?" He asked helplessly.

X x x

They all slotted into their seats and in no time at all (after a brief health and safety lecture from the Bald One – as if emergency exits were going to help them on this contraption!) the jittery bus was bumbling its way down Boulder Highway.

Catherine was slouched in the window seat and content to spend most of the ride glowering at Grissom over the top of her book while he, blissfully unaware, leant over her to absorb himself in the view.

Behind them, Warrick sat by himself so he could stretch his long legs into the aisle.

Across from him, Nick and Sara sat together, and the three of them shared mindless chatter for a while, until the boys lost themselves in a game of rock paper scissors, and Sara tucked herself away inside her book.

In front of them, an unlucky Sofia was sat next to a very hyperactive Greg, who was incessantly waving his camera at her, or turning around in his seat to film Sara and Nick (but mainly Sara) for a while.

And at the front Ecklie sat with ... well, Ecklie sat by himself. But he didn't seem to mind. After all, he had his precious brown folder with him. The folder that held a very important piece of information that he had not yet decided what to do with. But that was okay, he had time. And he was confident that everything would fall into place eventually.

And if it needed a little help, well ... that could be arranged.

X x x

"'California! What secrets does it hold?'" Greg rumbled in that ridiculous voice. "'The secret to great orange juice? Maybe. But perhaps something much more sinister.'"

"Knock it off Greg." Sofia mumbled.

"Okay, I know you know something. What aren't you telling us?" Catherine sighed, dropping her book into her lap. Grissom just looked at her. "Come on Gil; they find the skeleton of a child's body on the grounds of an abandoned orphanage, and pass it off to us. Why?"

"The local police force isn't equipped to deal with it."

"But why us? Why not San Francisco?" She pressed. "This just doesn't make sense."

"You're being paranoid." Grissom snorted, turning his attention back to the window.

"You're hiding something." She scowled.

X x x

"'Six hours to go.'"

After a few hours Catherine and Warrick had both drifted off. Cath was curled up in her seat, a soft frown on her face as her head bounced off the window every time the bus skittered over a pot hole. Warrick was stretched out across both seats, his feet resting on the edge of Nick's, much to the chagrin of the Texan.

Sofia eventually convinced Greg to give the camera a break for a while and they became absorbed in a conversation about music, which had turned into a discussion about concerts they had seen, which had migrated into a debate over who was more original in their songs and style: The Rolling Stones or The Who.

And when they got bored of that Sofia had plugged herself into her iPod and Greg had gone back to periodically tormenting Sara over the back of his seat.

"Get that camera out of my face Greg." She growled, eyes glued to her book.

"Come on, say something funny." He grinned. However, one Sidle glare soon wiped the smile off his face and he slunk back into his seat quietly.

Sara had been alarmingly quiet for the majority of the journey, so much so that at one point Catherine had had to check they hadn't left her at a service station somewhere on the I15.

Nick, however, had been watching her closely for the last hour or so, without her knowing of course.

"What?" She asked eventually, when his not so subtle staring was starting to get unnerving.

"What?" He parroted, startled.

"You're staring. What's up?" She asked, not taking her eyes off her book.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I was just wondering if everything's okay with you. You've been very quiet all day. All week, in fact." He corrected himself. It was true, ever since this trip was arranged Sara had become a bit of a ghost at work.

"I'm fine." She stated simply. Nick began to wonder if she was actually reading at all, because he couldn't remember the last time he saw her turn a page.

"Good book?" He asked.

"Riveting." Came the deadpan reply. Sensing that that was the most he was going to get out of his friend right now, he dropped the topic and settled back into the uncomfortable seat for a small nap.

X x x

"Please!"

"We're nearly there. Just hold on." Grissom instructed.

"But I can't!" Greg wailed, squirming like a worm.

"Please God just stop before he wets himself." Sofia begged, inching away from him as far as the small seat would allow.

"I told him not to drink that all that coffee." Sara (still reading) mumbled, eliciting a smile from a sleepy Nick.

"We nearly there?" He asked, sitting up straight and peering over Sara to get his first glimpse of the California highway.

"Please!" Greg whined again, his face twisting in a strange sort of pain.

"Oh for God sake, just let him go." Catherine groaned, rubbing her temples. The old bus creaked into the first motorway service they came to and Greg was out of the door before the brakes finished squeaking. They all chuckled at the sight of him galloping across the parking lot like a goat with a pitchfork up its ass.

Since they were stopped, they decided to have a walk and wake their legs up before hitting the last stretch of the motorway. All, that is, but Sara.

"You not coming?" Nick asked, trying to stretch and smacking his hand on the low roof in the process.

"No, I'm alright." She declined, pretending to be enthralled in her book. She felt Nick staring at her for a moment longer, before he reluctantly followed the team off the coach.

Outside, Nick tugged Catherine away from the group. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

"What's up?" She frowned. He licked his lips, thinking about how to phrase this.

"Have you noticed anything ... weird about Sara lately?" He asked her carefully, checking they were out of earshot. She raised an eyebrow.

"Weirder than usual?" She half-joked. "I don't know, can't say I've really noticed her at all recently." As soon as the words left her lips she frowned. "She has been very quiet." She mused out loud.

"Exactly." Nick said. "Something's wrong, I'm sure. But she wouldn't tell me anything. I was kind of hoping that, maybe, you could ..." He trailed off, shooting the blonde a sweet smile.

"Me?" She asked when she realised what he was suggesting. "What makes you think she'll talk to me?" It was not like her and Sara were best friends, after all. Nick shrugged.

"Well, you know, you're a woman." He pointed out.

"Thank you for noticing." She answered dryly.

"You're good with people." He corrected. "And, you're good at getting people to spill the beans. That's why you're the gossip queen." He joked.

"Don't let Hodge hear you say that, he'll get jealous." They both laughed. Catherine sighed and threw her hands up tiredly. "Alright, I'll talk to her. But I'm not promising anything. Where is she?" She asked, looking around. Nick gestured to the coach. Cath sighed and headed back to the door.

"Thanks Catherine."

X x x

She climbed the metal steps and made her way down the aisle. Sara was slunk down in her seat, staring absently out of the window, her closed book on her lap.

"Hey," Catherine called softly, making her jump. "Can I talk to you?" She sat down without waiting for a reply.

"Sure." Sara stammered, sitting up straight.

"I just wanted to check that everything's okay with you. You've been very quiet lately." Sara smiled tightly and nodded. She was not that easy to fool.

"You've been talking to Nick." She stated. Cath chuckled.

"You're good." She acknowledged. "He's just worried about you. We all are."

"I'm fine." Sara said weakly.

"Sara?" Catherine chastised lightly. She twisted to face her, leaning over the armrest between them. "Come on honey, talk to me. I know something's bothering you." She tried again. And for a moment it looked like Sara was about tell her something, until ...

"Come on come on come on!" Greg bounded up the steps and threw himself into his seat, turning to grin at the girls and wiggle an eyebrow at their close proximity. The rest of them followed behind, and Catherine could practically feel Sara's walls rocketing back up at their presence.

"I'm fine. Seriously, I am." She repeated more convincingly this time. Catherine eyed her sceptically.

"Really?"

"Really." Sara insisted, and even managed a smile this time.

"Okay." Catherine relented, though still unconvinced, and stood up. Before returning to her seat she sent Nick an apologetic look and shrugged helplessly.


	4. Doors

**Chapter 3**

Most of the passengers had fallen asleep by the time the rickety coach turned off the main road onto a deserted, dusty track. It trundled rhythmically over the bumps and dips, swerving the sharp corners and dodging the nocturnal country wildlife. Daylight had turned into dusk a good hour ago, and darkness swam into the purple sky as the bus turned onto a long gravel driveway.

Catherine blinked her eyes open just as they passed through a wrought iron gate that creaked ominously in the late evening breeze.

By now everyone was shattered and distinctly stiff. One by one they clambered out of the coach, stretched ... and stopped.

"What the hell!" Catherine's exclamation pretty much summed it up from everyone.

"Cool!" Greg exclaimed, whipping his camera out again. He panned it across the building, scowling when Ecklie stepped right into his shot.

"Guys, welcome to Buen Pastor Orfanato!"

X x x

The orphanage was a four story grey stone building, looming over the crescent moon-shaped driveway like a concrete Goliath. It was set on a cliff top, overlooking a stretch of beach closed in by the rocks. At the far end of the cliffs was a lighthouse, cast in darkness. At the bottom of the front garden was a rocky stone path leading down to the beach. Next to this path, buried in the flora, was a dilapidated wooden shed.

In front of the house was a large expanse of overgrown grass, scattered with trees. A lonely scarecrow seemed to howl with the wind.

The driveway led around this; from the gates and across the front of the house.

There were two sets of stone steps; one from the left and one from the right, connecting with another three steps that led to the front door. In front of these, there was a mass of untamed rose bushes.

The building was built in layers, narrow at the front and wider at the back. It looked akin to a temple, with large domes on the roof and a tower at the top. However, the dark grey stone removed all sense of grandeur. Wild ivy grew in tangles up the walls, like a mass of snakes.

There was a chapel built into the left side of the building, with stained glass windows that shimmered like a haunted rainbow in the moonlight.

Around the back, there was a huge garden (or what was once a garden), leading straight into a thick wooded area surrounding a lake.

The lake where a matter of days ago the body of a small child had been found.

A low mist drifted around their ankles. A round-a-bout creaked in the breeze. The sound of the waves crashing against the sand at the bottom of the cliffs echoed around them.

"Since we have the keys, we decided to take a quick look now. You know, just to get a feel of the place." Ecklie clapped his hands together. "So, shall we."

They all followed him up the stone stairs, shivering as he fumbled with the rusted iron ring until he found the front door key. They heard it scrape inside the mechanism, waking up decades old cogs. Once the latch crunched open he stepped aside and let Grissom lead.

The heavy wooden door scraped along the dusty floor with a disgruntled creak. No one had set foot in here in a very long time.

X x x

Grissom poked his head around and stepped inside, followed cautiously by the rest of the group. Decades of dust swirled into the air, disturbed by these new arrivals. Light streamed through the cracked, dirty windows in disjointed beams.

There was a porch that led them into a large foyer with a huge, curving staircase leading upstairs. Every room entrance was framed with intricately decorated arches. From where they were they could see a few rooms; office on the right, at the base of the stairs, lounge on the left, dining room beyond that. At the back of the house there was a large kitchen, leading through a back porch to a concrete patio before you reach the expanse of grass behind.

In the foyer there was a huge dresser; a few scattered items caked in dust remained on top. There was a coat stand, complete with coats both large and small and a large, ornate grandfather clock that chimed nine o'clock.

"Oh!" Nick jumped. Two dark, accusatory eyes scowled down at him from a huge picture that hung over the dresser. Jesus. Apparently it was true, he really was everywhere; on every wall hung pictures and crucifixes, prayers and Bible quotes. 'If this is the hall, I can't wait to see the chapel!' Nicky thought, gathering himself after his shock.

It could have been the darkness, or possibly the rancid smell, but this place had a seriously gothic feel to it.

The boys started to drift off in different directions, venturing down the dark hallway curiously, examining the ancient furniture. The faded wallpaper, once a vibrant burgundy, was now grey and torn.

Greg walked in a slow circle, capturing every detail on video. "Wow." He breathed, zooming in on the tolling clock.

Sara was the only one who didn't seem interested in exploring; her eyes were fixed on the painting that had scared Nick. After a long moment she followed Grissom and Ecklie, who were heading up the creaky stairs. One by one they trailed up the staircase, whispering in hushed tones to each other as they went. None knew why, it just seemed like one of those places you had to whisper, like if you spoke too loudly some ghost was going to jump you from the shadows.

Catherine ran her hand along the carved banister; it was beautifully engraved, and in remarkably good condition. Sara paused on the platform where the stairs changed direction. She glanced over the balcony tentatively for a second before continuing.

At the top of the stairs they paused.

The landing they were on led both left and right, connecting with a long hallway on either side. Ecklie, however, carried on. He walked left, then right, taking them to the back corner of the house.

The door was heavy and groaned as it was pushed open. They all piled in, examining the new room. It was a bedroom. Ecklie turned to them all with sly grin.

"Well guys and gals, make yourselves at home!"


	5. Good Charlotte

**Chapter 4**

"I thought we were staying in a hotel!" Sofia questioned.

"This isn't like any hotel I've ever stayed in." Warrick grumbled, eyeing the weak beds suspiciously. Ecklie chuckled as he made his way to the front of the group.

"No, slight change to that plan. You're going to be staying here while you work. It's more practical and it'll give you all a feel for the place." He grinned, which was a rather dangerous thing to do because right now Catherine wanted nothing more than to slap that smarmy smile right off his face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second." The tetchy blonde held up her hands defensively. "You promised us a hotel. En-suites, working showers, lights. You never said anything about sleeping in an abandoned orphanage!" She snapped.

"I don't think anyone's going to be sleeping in here." Greg mused, panning his camera across the room. He could practically feel Sara shuddering next to him, so he guessed that she agreed.

"Sorry guys. That's the deal." Ecklie apologised unapologetically. "We decided that it would be a good idea for you to spend some time here to get a feel for the place." He explained. Catherine whirled on Grissom.

"You knew about this and you didn't tell us!" She smacked him. He didn't answer, just rubbed his now bruising arm sullenly and stared at his shoes. "Look, I am not staying here." Cath insisted. Ecklie just smiled.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic Catherine. Now, you'll sleep in here,"

"All of us?" Sofia asked, rubbing her arms against the chilly air.

"Yes, now I know you're all tired so get some rest. There'll be plenty of time for exploring in the morning." He beckoned them all towards the beds.

"Where are you going?" Grissom asked, trying his hardest to avoid Catherine's glare.

"I'm going to meet the criminologist from San Francisco at the gates. He's going to go over a few case notes with me so I can brief you all in the morning." He explained, feeling rather important. "Now, go guys. Go rest up. I'll bring breakfast back in the morning, then we can get right to it. You've got a lot of ground to explore tomorrow." They all rolled their eyes. Ecklie turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway to offer one parting message, with a sly grin to boot;

"Oh, and don't let the bed bugs bite!"

X x x

They all piled further in, looking around their new room with distaste. Despite the growing dusk and overcast clouds, this room seemed marginally lighter than the rest of the house and they could clearly see everything in the room – which to be fair was not much. There were eight metal frame beds with wooden support beams, four on either side, six basic wooden tables arranged between them, and to finish it off a couple of heavy oak wardrobes placed next to the door.

It was a bit of a stretch to call the beds 'singles' – they were close enough that if you rolled over you'd end up on top of the person next to you.

"Wow." Was all that Catherine could say. Grissom turned to her with a humorous glint in his eye.

"Well, if nothing else I'm sure we'll all feel closer after this." She didn't answer. She glared.

Sofia sighed and tossed her bag onto the nearest bed on the right hand side of the room. Catherine followed suit and headed for the one next to her. She assumed Sara would chose the next, but to her surprise Sara went to the end of the room, paused by the bay window seat for a moment, and threw her bag onto the one in the left hand corner – as far away from anyone as possible. Nick and Catherine exchanged a concerned look and Nick followed her to the end, choosing the bed next to hers. Warrick chose the one next to Cath and Greg picked the one next to that, opposite Sara's. Grissom chose the one next to Nick, leaving the end bed closest to the door for Ecklie ... if he was ever planning on sleeping here, which they seriously doubted.

"Alright gang, try to get some sleep." Grissom said, eyeing his rather little bed uncertainly. Warrick was trying to measure himself against the small frame while Greg was sat bouncing on his, completely unfazed by the lack of supports.

"Hey, if you thought the bus was uncomfortable you should get a load of these things." He said, jiggling about.

"I'm not sure I want too. When do you think these sheets were last washed?" Sofia asked, pulling them apart at arm's length.

"Well, judging by the colour I'd say, last century?" Catherine offered.

"Oh man," Nick whinged. "These things smell like dust bunnies!"

"Alright guys, I know this is not what we had in mind, but let's just try to make the best of it." Grissom chastised, nearly falling over while trying to tug his jeans off. The boys followed his lead and began getting undressed. Sofia turned her back and cautiously removed her shirt, casting uneasy glances over her shoulder. Sara, sat on her bed staring out towards the sea, pulled her shirt off wordlessly.

Catherine didn't start to get changed; she walked over to Sara and crouched down next to her. Even in the growing darkness, she could see a flash of something hidden behind Sara's dark eyes.

She waited until she had Sara's full attention before speaking, softly and quietly. "Whenever you're ready to talk to me, I'm here." She held her gaze for a moment, before standing up and walking away, letting her hand trial across Sara's bare shoulder as she went.

Alone, Sara reached up and let her fingers graze the area, still feeling the ghost of Catherine's touch on her skin.

X x x

Catherine tossed helplessly in the small bed. This was no use; she was cold, she was freaked out and she felt like she was lying on an ironing board. How the hell was she supposed to sleep? Judging by the unladylike sounds from the bed next to her, Sofia was not having the same problem. And neither were the guys judging by the other snores and grunts echoing around the hollow room.

But as she lay there, sulking in the darkness, she began to pick up another sound. She laid still, listening carefully to it.

Music.

The sound seemed to be swimming around the room. But it wasn't coming from in here. That much she knew.

Climbing out of bed, she tiptoed across the wooden floor. She winced as the old floorboards creaked loudly. It was pitch black now, so she had to rely on her other senses to find her way.

"Ow!" She hissed as she collided with the end of Sofia's bed.

"Huh? What?" The blonde mumbled, struggling to sit up.

"It's okay, it's just me." She whispered.

"What's up?" Sofia asked sleepily, dropping back down a little too heavily.

"Nothing, go back to sleep." Cath answered quietly, feeling her way along the bottom of the bed towards the door.

Out in the hall she wrapped her arms around herself to shield her bare arms from the icy cold air. The musty atmosphere was gone out here, and the sound was much clearer. The tune was almost hypnotic, calling to her.

Drawn to follow it, she crept down the stairs, feeling her way along the railing so as not to fall. Even in the darkness, she seemed to know where she was going. And what she saw when she got there took her breath away.

X x x

"Oh Sara." She whispered from the threshold. The brunette tensed up when she realised she'd been sprung. Her hands froze, fingers poised over the keys.

Despite having her back to the door, she knew who had caught her. And she didn't know if it was better or worse that way just yet.

Catherine sighed and sat down next to her at the grand piano, and it was only then that she realised the girl was crying. Taken aback, the blonde wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, hey. It's okay." She murmured, pulling Sara close. The young brunette remained tense, her eyes fixed towards the huge window overlooking the front garden while crystal tears streamed down her face unnoticed.

"I can't do this." She whispered, almost inaudibly.

"What?" Catherine asked, rubbing circles on her back.

"I thought I could but I can't." Sara continued, in a quiet detached voice as if Catherine her never spoken.

"Do what honey?"

"This; being here." She gestured to the building. She didn't speak again for a few minutes, and Catherine wasn't really sure what to say. "'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here'." Sara murmured desolately after a while.

"Sara, what's going on?" Catherine pressed gently. The brunette didn't make any attempt to show she had heard her and Cath was just about to call her again when she spoke.

"You ever wonder what it's like in Hell?" She asked rhetorically. "I've seen things that no one should see. Things that I wish I didn't remember. And up until five days ago I didn't." She swallowed hard. "Everything I've seen, I've lived. It's all back. And it's like someone's rewound time and everything's happening all over again. This is my Hell." As she spoke, Catherine began to fill in the blanks: the quiet detachedness, the dark mood, the tears. Suddenly that look, that deep hidden look behind her eyes earlier tonight, flashed into Catherine's memory. Only this time she could read it clear as day.

Reminiscence.

Without even realising it, she uttered her realisation aloud.

"You went to the orphanage."


	6. Alice In Chains

**Chapter 5**

"I used to wish I was a mermaid." Sara said randomly, after a few minutes silence. Catherine frowned, not following. "I would close my eyes and pretend I could swim underwater, back home. When I came here I didn't know where I was, all I knew was there was water here, and there was water where I used to live, so if I could swim under the sea I could go home." She babbled, her mind elsewhere.

She was quiet for a moment, and Catherine began to think she wasn't going to speak again.

"I was seven. My parents ... they weren't around anymore. I was brought here." Sara tried to swallow the surging pain back down but it tasted like poison. "I remember first arriving. Those gates ... they reminded me of a prison. I remember thinking, years later when I was leaving, that even in death my father punished us. My mother was in prison, and so was I." Her voice was dark, low. It scared Catherine to hear her talking like this.

Sara stopped speaking again. Cath didn't know how long for, but it was too long.

"What was it like? The Orphanage?" She asked, almost against her will, just needing to fill the deathly silence.

"Buen Pastor was run by Italian nuns." Catherine listened to her intently, seriously; but couldn't help smiling at the change in her accent when she spoke the name of the building. "Its name is actually Spanish, it means 'Good Shepherd'. The original owners were Italian but the Good Shepherd church was bought by a Spanish family who built the orphanage and changed the name." She explained. "I remember being so scared at first, they were really strict. The nuns were all Italian and barely spoke any English."

"Do you speak Italian?"

"Had to. You leant it or you didn't get heard." She swallowed again. "It was awful, at first. Like getting stranded in a foreign country. But after a while, it became home. It was nice, having other kids around. We were always playing games. They were my best friends." Sara lips moved into a ghost smile, but it soon faded. "That picture in the hall. It terrified me. I always felt like it was watching me, judging me." She swallowed hard. "Some of the nuns scared me too. Some of them were lovely, others ... they beat us, starved us. Sometimes the owner of the church would come round. Always at night. Funny that, huh?" She didn't laugh. And though she didn't say it, the implication was clear. "There was only one rule: you never told." For the first time Sara looked at Catherine, silent tears still trekking down her face. "This building has a lot of secrets Catherine. And some of them are best left that way." She whispered. Cath didn't know what to say.

So she said nothing. Instead she tugged Sara towards her, holding her close. To her surprise, Sara didn't fall apart and didn't pull away. She just let the older woman hold her.

Eventually Catherine sighed.

"You know, you don't have to stay here. You and me, we can go home and leave the boys to handle this." She offered, rubbing circles on Sara's back. The brunette shook her head vehemently, keeping her eyes fixed towards the window.

"No. No, I need ..." she swallowed hard. "I need to do this."

"You sure?"

"Something bad happened here Catherine. I want to know what. I need to know, so I can ..." she trailed off, but Cath thought she understood what she was trying to say. She tugged her closer, letting their heads rest together.

"Okay. Just remember you can change your mind anytime." Sara didn't answer her, but she chose to assume that her colleague had heard her. Without even thinking about it, she placed a kiss on Sara's cheek. "You're so brave." She whispered. Sara still didn't speak, but a small smile crept onto her face.

They sat like that for a while – could have been minutes, could have been hours – watching through the window as the sky turned from midnight black to a deep blue, noticing the way the moonlight reflected off the leaves of the trees, like a thousand tiny mirrors. The garden had an eerie horror-movie feel to it, with a light blanket of mist swirling just above the ground. It would almost be peaceful, if not for the uneasy feeling the forbidding building created in the pit of one's stomach.

"That song." Catherine said eventually.

"One of the nuns taught it to me." She began playing it again. Catherine watched her skilled fingers glide across the keys seemingly of their own accord. Sara's eyes were closed. It was like she wasn't really there, her mind was travelling elsewhere, travelling on the music. When she finished she let her hands drop into her lap. They didn't speak for a few minutes. Finally Sara closed the lid on the piano carefully and stood up. Catherine watched her walk away, transfixed by the brunette.

When she followed, she found Sara sat on the bottom step of the wooden staircase, staring straight forward. The blonde sat down next to her wordlessly. It was icy cold in the empty foyer and Cath nestled closer, allowing their body heat to mingle.

And there they remained; Catherine's arm slung over Sara's shoulders, their hands tucked safely in each other's grasp.

X x x

Nick was the first to wake. He struggled to sit up, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He glanced around the room, though his vision was hazy and his eyes stung – he'd forgotten to take his lenses out last night. He'd pay for _that_ today.

From what he could see, everyone else had had about as comfortable a night as he had. Grissom was sprawled out on his stomach, one foot touching the floor either side of the bed. Greg was shuffling helplessly like a puppy having a bad dream. Sofia was sort of curled up, but with her arms slung about wildly, like she had run out of space for them. Warrick was on his back, his feet sticking out over the bed post. Nick picked up his pillow (hard enough to dent a car) and hurled it at the dark-skinned man.

"Ugh!" Warrick grumbled when the offending item landed on his stomach. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around, his gaze settling on Nick across the room. "What?" He groaned.

"Where are the girls?" Nick asked in a hushed voice, trying not to wake anyone else. Warrick cast his green eyes to his side, seeing Cath's bed empty, and then to Sara's bed, also empty. He shrugged and let himself fall back down heavily, making a thud as the metal bed frame ricocheted off the wall. Sofia startled awake at the noise, nodded at the boys and closed her eyes again. "Hey Sof, where are Cath and Sara?" Nick hissed at her.

"Catherine got up in the middle of the night, don't know about Sara." She mumbled sleepily. Warrick was half-laid down, listening. He looked at Nick, noting his expression.

"What's up?" he asked his mate.

"Nothing." Nick covered. "Just ... wondered where they'd gone."

"Where's whose go?" Grissom asked sleepily. He pushed himself up and frowned. "Where's who gone?" He tried again.

"Cath and Sara. They're not here." Warrick answered, standing up and stretching after his awkward night's sleep. Nick had gotten up too.

"I heard Cath get up, never heard a thing from Sara." Sofia said again, more awake now. "But that was hours ago." There was a loud snore and all eyes turned to Greg. The youngest man was still asleep, kicking weakly at thin air.

"Greggo!" Nick called, kicking the base of the bed lightly.

"Huh?" Greg jumped.

"Hey, wakey wakey sleeping beauty." The Texan laughed. "You know where the girls went?"

"Sara's over there." He pointed in the general direction of her bed, burying his head under his flat pillow. Nick looked at Grissom for permission (permission granted) and yanked him up roughly by the arm. Upright and sort of awake, Greg looked to Sara's bed and frowned. "Sara's not over there."

"No, no we figured that. And Cath's not in her bed either." Nick agreed. Greg's eyes widened and a cheeky grin spread across his face. Nick rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"They're probably downstairs." Sofia pointed out the obvious, leading them into the dark hallway. They fumbled along the walls for a light switch, eventually finding one at the top of the stairs...

...that didn't work.

"Oh." Grissom hummed when he clicked the switch and nothing happened.

"Light must have burned out." Warrick mused. Grissom gestured for them to follow as he led the way down the stairs. Greg was too busy focussing on where he was putting his feet that he didn't notice Grissom stop halfway down and nearly knocked him over. The young man held his camera over Gil's shoulder to see what had stopped him. On the small screen he could see a figure slumped against the handrail.

"Hey, we found Catherine." He called back over his shoulder to the rest of them team.

They all plodded down to the foyer, where there was enough natural light to see Catherine asleep on the bottom step, curled against the banister, Sara's leather jacket draped over her. Grissom nudged her foot with his own and she made a disgruntled noise but didn't stir. He nudged her again, harder.

"Hmm?" She asked grumpily, cracking an eye open sleepily. However, when she glimpsed them all staring at her she bolted upright, eyes wide.

"Catherine? You okay?" Gil asked, eyeing her suspiciously. She, however, wasn't listening. She was staring at the empty spot next to her.

"Where's Sara?" She asked, trying to hide her alarm.

"We were kind of hoping you'd know." Warrick said. She opened and closed her mouth before stumbling out an explanation.

"We couldn't sleep; we came down here to talk. We didn't want to wake you guys." It wasn't a lie, after all.

And before anyone could ask questions, the front door groaned open.

"Good morning everyone." Ecklie chirped. "How did we all sleep?"

"Urgh." Seemed to be the unanimous answer. Sara slinked in from the back of the house somewhere and smiled shyly at the boys when they spotted her.

"Well, I brought breakfast." Ecklie continued, holding up a bag proudly. "So, shall we..." he pointed towards the kitchen. They followed him in eagerly, all thoughts of the girls' midnight wanderings forgotten.

By most anyway. Cath lingered at the back and grabbed Sara's arm loosely.

"Hey, where'd you disappear to?" She asked quietly, so as not to be overheard. Sara shrugged, staring at her feet nervously. Cath softened her gaze. "Look, I know this is hard for you, but you can't run off every time you need to think. If you need time alone just tell me where you're going first, okay?" she bargained, offering the brunette her jacket back. Sara nodded and smiled.

"Thank you. For last night." She whispered at last. Cath returned the smile.

"Anytime." She said, tucking a brunette strand of hair behind Sara's ear. "Come on. Breakfast."


	7. Christian Death

**Thank you for all the reviews so far, hope y'all enjoying it. **

**And don't forget about the titles challenge :)**

**x x x x **

**Chapter 6**

After a satisfying take-out breakfast, the team headed back upstairs.

"So, do I even want to ask about the showers?" Catherine asked as they reached the landing.

"Well." Ecklie said. At her raised eyebrow he opted to keep quiet and just pointed towards a door. They all peered inside together, and if the smell of twenty year old grime didn't put them off, the layout certainly would. "Don't worry, that's only for the girls. There's another for the boys down the hall." Ecklie grinned.

"Oh good." Cath mocked, eyeing the faded yellow walls. She couldn't decide if they were supposed to be yellow, or if it was an act of time. She decided that she didn't want to know.

There were six shower cubicles across the back wall, separated only by low walls. There were six toilet cubicles down one side and six sinks down the other. The floor was a faded once-white tile with scuff marks almost engrained into it. Over every sink there was a mirror, and a wall lamp and a towel hanging off a dusty hook. With a reluctant sigh they retrieved their things from the bedroom and shuffled into the showers.

Twenty minutes later, and a lot of discomfort, on the boys part even more then the girls – their showers didn't have any wall separations at all – and the team were ready to start Day One.

Ecklie briefed them on what extra information he had gotten, which was very little.

The child was roughly seven years old – suspected male – identity unknown. It would appear drowning was a possibility for cause of death, or possibly poisoning, suffocation, strangulation or starvation. Since they only had bones it was impossible to tell, except that there was no evidence that he was shot or stabbed.

Which didn't really leave them with much. And since they didn't know exactly what they were looking for, they decided to split up and search each room for anything of great interest. Today was not so much investigative, as getting a feel for the place.

Opting to focus on downstairs today, Catherine and Sara started with the lounge. Nick and Warrick took the office. Grissom and Ecklie did the kitchen and Greg and Sofia the dining room.

X x x

_Kitchen – _

"Where did you sleep?" Grissom asked casually, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, George and I went back to his apartment to look over the files. We got to talking and it was late so he put me up in a hotel. Nothing fancy, just a local place." Ecklie smirked.

"George?" Grissom asked, looking up.

"George Phillips, the San Francisco criminalist." He explained. "I'll have to introduce you two, he was fascinated when I told him about your, ahem, collectables." He said, referring to Grissom's collection of strange objects decorating his office.

"I look forward to it." Gil answered, going back to scouring the dusty cupboards. "What do you think twenty year old peaches look like?" He asked, holding up the tin he had found curiously. Ecklie sent him all the answer he needed in a look.

X x x

_Dining room – _

"Do you think there's something going on between Cath and Sara?" Greg asked while wandering around the large oak dining table, camera in hand, trying and failing to sound nonchalant. Sofia's head popped up from the other side.

"Do you?" She asked curiously. He shrugged.

"They just seem kinda close at the moment. I just thought, you know with you being a woman and everything, you might know something." He mumbled nervously.

"Well I don't, but I might have to pay a bit more attention now." The blonde detective chuckled.

"I shouldn't have said anything." Greg shook his head and continued filming the room, zooming in on the large gold crucifix overlooking the dinner table. His foot knocked something small and metal on the floor.

X x x

_Office – _

"Hey, have you noticed anything weird with Sara recently?"

Warrick stopped rummaging through the mountain of paperwork and glanced up. "Sara? Man, that girl's always weird." He said, returning his attention to the wreck of a filing system before him. Nick laughed softly.

"Yeah, but have you noticed anything ... different? Or, has she said anything?" He pressed.

"Like what?" Warrick asked, not really paying attention.

"Like, I don't know." Nicky sighed. "Forget it, I'm just ... don't worry about it." Warrick made a salute to say he understood, never taking his eyes off of the receipts he was rifling through. Nick sighed again and picked up a stack of papers to look through off the bookshelf. A wooden box clattered to the floor, causing the contents to spill. With a heavier sigh, he bent down and began putting the contents back into the box. There were bills, a few post-it notes with scribbling on and numerous ragged letters from social workers. He picked up a ragged piece of paper that had been ripped off the corner of a page. In scrawled black handwriting read:

_Miss Paige Matthews, SF Social care _

_(800) 856-3925_

Tossing it back into the box, his eyes settled on a faded, slightly torn photograph. Brushing the dust off with his fingertips, he held it up to the stream of light creeping through the half-closed blinds.

It was taken on the front steps of the house. There were seven children, all wearing grey uniforms, aged roughly 6-10; five girls and two boys. Behind and to the sides, there were maybe half a dozen nuns and a couple of other members of staff. Though the colour was fading, he could still make out the kids quite clearly.

"Hey, Rick." He called his partner over. "Check this out." He held the photo up as Warrick leant over his shoulder.

"Sweet. Where'd you find that?"

"Fell out of that box." Nick explained. Warrick nudged him.

"Hey, there are two boys. You think...?"

"Our vic?" Nick finished his thought. "We could get a facial reconstruction of the little boy; see if he's on here." The Texan grinned.

"Exactly what I was thinking." They grinned at each other and exchanged a strange, man-hand-shake of success.

Neither of them had noticed the smudged fingerprints on the dusty piano.

X x x

_Chapel – _

"You can ask you know." Sara's slightly amused voice broke the eerie silence.

"What?" Catherine asked, startled.

"Whatever that question burning in your mouth is." Sara sent her a look. "What, you think I didn't notice you staring over here every two minutes?" Cath laughed nervously.

"Sorry, I was just ... thinking." She explained.

"About?" Sara pressed, letting her hand wander across the prayer books. The lounge had not given up much, so they had decided to check the chapel instead.

Cath looked uncertain but Sara's gentle smile urged her on. She put the small gold cross she was holding down and turned to face Sara across the room.

"Last night, you said that you came here because your parents weren't around. But then you said something about your mother being in prison."

"And you want to know what happened." Sara nodded in understanding.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just curious." Catherine said, setting her flashlight down too to give Sara her undivided attention.

"It's okay." Sara promised. "My mother killed my father. If she'd only stabbed him once it would have been self-defence, but..."

"...when an abused woman snaps there's no stopping her." Catherine finished for her sadly, finally understanding. "Sara, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Not your fault." Sara answered bluntly. There was an awkward silence while Catherine debated whether or not to do the thing that she really wanted to do but didn't know if she should. Sara had turned her back, and was staring at one of the stone statues standing guard over the small church.

"St Rosalia." She spoke at last. "She left home to live in a cave on Mount Pellegrino, to worship God. She died alone, unnoticed. She dedicated her life to God, and yet it was four centuries after her death before anyone knew she'd even existed." She looked away. "I always saw religion as a cruel life choice. You're told what to eat, how to live, when to pray; you're forced to live in poverty, under the church's control, in the hope that you'll get a better life when you die. In my opinion that's too high a price to pay." She mumbled sadly.

Catherine didn't know what to say. She edged closer, until she was right behind Sara.

"There was a nun, Sister Mary Catherine, she told me once that seeing is not believing; if you believe then you will see." The brunette continued, seemingly oblivious to Cath's presence now. "But to believe you need faith, and all my faith died with my father." She shook her head sadly. "She was the one who taught me that song."

Catherine took a final step closer. Sara must have sensed her presence behind her because she turned around, and Cath immediately wrapped her arms around her slowly, drawing her body close. Sara returned the hug tentatively, frowning with confusion at this sudden emotional gesture.

"I love you." Catherine choked out quietly, swallowing her tears. Sara just held her tighter, burying her face in sweet smelling strawberry blonde locks.

And they remained like that, locked in each other's comforting embrace under the watchful eyes of the angels.


	8. Three Dog Night

**Chapter 7**

Sara was sat on her bed, staring into space, when Catherine planted herself on Nick's bed, curling up on her stomach. "Hey there." She greeted. Sara smiled. "How are you doing after today?"

"I'm okay," Sara nodded; shifting around slightly so she was sat crossed legged facing Catherine. "It's just weird being back here again."

"Yeah. You know I'm here if you want to talk." The older woman reached a hand across the gap. Sara placed her hand in Cath's hesitantly.

"I know." She smiled gratefully.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I just ... it hurts thinking about what you went though. And, I guess I just got a bit upset." Cath explained, rubbing her thumb in a circle on the back of Sara's hand. "You want me to stay here? I'm sure Nick wouldn't mind trading." A shy smile graced Sara's lips.

"Would you mind?" She asked bashfully.

"Nicky! We're swapping!" Cath called across the room. Nick, who was sitting on Cath's bed playing cards with Warrick, gave her a thumbs-up and went back to his game. As Cath turned back to Sara she caught a glimpse of Greg staring at them questioningly. "What?" She asked impudently. The younger man shrugged, flustered at being caught gawping, and went back to checking through his footage.

"Alright guys, good work today. We'll share what we found over breakfast tomorrow. For now, try to get some sleep." Ecklie instructed, wandering in wearing a pair of stripy pyjamas.

"Nice PJs Conrad." Cath shot over her shoulder, trying to suppress a giggle.

"You're not staying with George tonight?" Grissom asked sweetly. Ecklie pulled an unimpressed face.

"George?" Nick inquired, abandoning his cards. "Something you're not telling us Conrad?" he asked cheekily.

"Alright gang, time for bed. Lights out in five." He huffed, clambering into his rickety bed.

Cath leant up and placed a soft kiss on Sara's cheek before crawling under the thin blanket.

X x x

It was not long after lights out that Catherine heard a soft whimpering sound. She vaguely recalled hearing it last night, but she had been so tired she couldn't fully remember. Suddenly it stopped, and was replaced with quiet crying. And it didn't matter that she couldn't see, because she had a pretty good idea of where it was coming from. Cath reached across the tiny gap and submerged her hand in Sara's soft brown tresses. She felt the brunette react to her touch, so even though Sara had her back to her, she knew she was indeed awake. She ran her hand down Sara's neck, across her shoulders and let it rest on her arm. After a moment Sara relaxed and her fingers sought Catherine's in the darkness. Due to the distance between them, or lack thereof, Cath found she could rest her hand on Sara's stomach, their fingers intertwined tightly. It was a strange embrace to say the least, but it gave Sara a sense of comfort, and gave Catherine peace of mind that Sara was safe.

They remained hooked together like this for a long time, letting sleep claim them in tandem.

At about ten after one, the muffled quiet was broken by an ominous creaking. Catherine heard it first, and subconsciously gripped Sara tighter around the middle, causing the brunette to stir. Sofia and Greg awoke next, and the four of them listened as the sound got louder. It was a strange yet familiar sound, almost like...

CRASH

... breaking wood.

Sofia switched the light on. One by one, as their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they burst out laughing at the sight before them. Ecklie, in his stripy pyjamas, was sat on his mattress and pile of splintered wood, in the middle of the rusted metal bed frame.

"Need to lay off the pies there, Ecklie!" Greg howled, nearly rolling off his own bed in his glee. Catherine, her hand still gripping Sara's, tried to ask if he was alright, but the words were lost in her laughter. Only Grissom seemed marginally in control of his amusement, though there was a humorous glint in his eyes.

"Conrad? Everything okay down there?" He asked light-heartedly. Ecklie grunted a reply as he picked himself up and surveyed his broken bed with distaste. The metal frame was still in place, though slightly bent, but the wooden support beams had snapped under his weight.

"Get up." He instructed Grissom. "You'll have to give me yours." In an instant all humour fell from Grissom's face.

"Why?"

"I've got a bad back." Ecklie stated, rubbing the base of his spine melodramatically to prove his point.

"I've got a headache." Grissom countered.

"That doesn't mean anything." Ecklie spat, folding his arms.

"It means you're not getting my bed." Grissom answered, mirroring the gesture.

"Now, now boys. Share and share alike." Catherine chastised playfully.

"Why do you care so much anyway, it's a crappy bed." Ecklie said, kicking the side petulantly. In one loud creak, Grissom's bed collapsed too, clattering to the floor in a splintered mess. Grissom's face was a picture of shock.

"Now look what you did." Gil pouted, rubbing his painful behind.

"Well, I guess some of us are going to have to bunk up." Conrad stated, turning to the rest of the group.

"Uh huh, no way!" Sofia stated. "You guys broke it, now you have to sleep on it."

"Isn't there another bedroom?" Nicky asked.

"No. There are the nuns' rooms, but they've got no furniture." Ecklie sighed. "So what do we do?"

"You guys could push the frames together and turn the mattress around, so they're lying across the metal bars." Nick suggested.

"Yeah, then you can 'bunk up' together." Warrick added. Ecklie sent them a disregarding look, but Grissom was already shoving the beds together. With the mattresses side by side, swivelled around ninety degrees, it made a double bed of sorts and the lack of wooden support beams didn't matter.

"Do what you want Conrad, I'm sleeping here." He settled down, shuffled a bit, and closed his eyes. Ecklie sighed and followed suit, not really seeing another option.

He flopped onto it desolately and kicked until he was comfy. The light was clicked off and the team all settled back down in bed, amused smiles on their faces. Ecklie sighed, rolled over ... and found himself staring at Grissom's feet.

**x x x x **

**A little light humour in the darkness :) Leave a review, let me know what you think so far x**


	9. Black Sabbath

**Couldn't sleep, so new chapter for y'all x**

**x x x x**

**Chapter 8**

After a difficult night's sleep, Ecklie sat up and stretched. His face had spent all night inches away from Grissom's bare feet, and his back felt stiff as a board.

The girls, on the other hand, had had a relatively good sleep. Sara had made a couple of hushed noises in the night, but a few comforting caresses from Catherine and she quietened down pretty quickly.

They all awoke and shuffled into the bathrooms again, nearly giving Ecklie a stroke when it dawned on him that he was expected to shower here too. And one at a time they appeared in the kitchen, until Ecklie and Grissom, the last two, traipsed in.

A meagre breakfast of egg and toast, with the few supplies he had brought back from the town, was prepared and eaten as the findings from yesterday were shared.

Grissom held up his tin of peaches proudly, still profoundly intrigued to know what they looked like.

"Yeah, well just don't open them here." Catherine ordered. "There's enough weird smells in this place as it is. We can do without fermented fruit."

"Okay Catherine, what did you and Sara find?" Ecklie asked, changing the subject.

"Dust mites." The blonde answered bluntly.

"I found a door handle on the dining room floor." Greg piped up. They all sent him a look. Hey smiled and held up his camera. "Look, I took a picture..."

"Well, we found a load of invoices and receipts." Nick said, changing the subject. "But, check this out." He slid the photograph across the table. "It was in a box on the bookshelf." They all peered across the table at it.

"I put a call in to the coroner; he's going to get a reconstruction done of the little boy's face, see if we can't match it to a child on here." Warrick added.

"Did you find a list of residents, or children that lived here?" Grissom asked.

"Not yet, but there's a tonne of paperwork in that office."

"Okay, in that case you and Nicky stay in there, see if you can find anything useful." He instructed. "The rest of us are heading upstairs. Greg, you're with me. We're going to check the other bedrooms and the classroom. Sara and Sofia, I want you two on the landing and stairwell. Catherine, you get the children's games room."

"And I," Ecklie interrupted, "am going back into the town to see what results the lab has got on the victim. So, good luck guys."

X x x

"Man, it is going to take forever to find anything useful in here." Warrick groaned, surveying the mess of papers they had abandoned yesterday.

"I'll start with the filing cabinet." Nick asserted.

After an hour or so, they had developed a system of piles: receipts, invoices, cheques from what they assumed to be a local charity and letters. Anything else went in the miscellaneous pile.

"Hey, I think I got something." Nick said, beckoning Rick over.

"Yeah?"

"Looks like a medical file ... hey; do you think we're allowed to see these without a warrant?"

"I don't know, we'll ask Griss later." Warrick answered absently, flicking through the manila folder. It was indeed a medical file, but included was a portfolio of the child – a little boy, eight years old on arrival, who was grinning wildly at the camera. According to his notes he was HIV positive and died at the age of eleven.

"Man, can you imagine living here?" Nick asked, shaking his head slowly. "No family, no stability, other kids coming and going. Must be so ... lonely."

"Yeah." Warrick agreed. "No matter what trouble I got into, at least I always knew my grandmother had my back."

From the back of the house somewhere, there was a faint knock.

X x x

"You want the top or bottom?" Sara asked. Sofia raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take the top."

They had opted to start on the stairs and work their way onto the landing. So Sofia began at the top and worked her way down, while Sara started at the bottom and worked upwards. There wasn't really much to find and they covered the area quickly, meeting on the platform in the middle.

Though they had put their differences aside – sort of – there were no words spoken between the two as they worked. It was true that there had been a great deal of tension between the women at one time, but this silence was not surly or cold. It was ... calm, almost.

Eventually, however, Sofia decided to voice a thought that had been playing on her mind since her conversation with Greg yesterday.

"So, what's going on with you and Catherine?" Nothing like getting straight to the point. Sara looked up with a baffled expression. "You guys just seem very close at the moment. I just wondered..." she let the sentence hang, not wanted to presume something way off mark.

"She's just helping me out with something." Sara answered evasively. Sofia quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, alright. I just wondered." She shrugged. "You guys just never seemed all that close. And now..."

"We are." Sara interrupted bluntly. "We just don't flaunt it."

It was true, on Sara's part anyway, that Catherine was the best female friend she had. Pretty much the only proper female friend in fact.

Sofia was trying to formulate a reply, when all thoughts were broken by a series of muffled, intermittent thuds directly above them.

X x x

"Do you reckon the kid was killed here?" Greg asked, as him and Grissom surveyed one of the nun's bedrooms. The bed had been dismantled and lay in pieces against a wall. He contemplated telling Ecklie about it, but the fleeting thought soon disappeared.

"I don't speculate until there's evidence to support it." Grissom answered in that empty, calm voice of his.

"I know, but, you must have a hunch?" He persisted, scanning the empty, bleak room with his camera. The look Grissom sent him was enough of an answer.

"Evidence Greg." He snapped.

"What evidence? We don't even know what we're looking for." The younger man asked.

"We don't know that until we find something. Let's check the classroom." Grissom pointed out, ambling back into the hall.

The classroom was pretty much as you'd expect: wooden tables with years of doodles scratched into the surface, wooden chairs that scraped against the tiled floor. Books, paper, pens. A dusty old globe sat by the murky window.

"I'm never gonna find anything useful in this dump." Greg grumbled miserably.

A random thud above his head made him jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean it." He whispered nervously.

X x x

"Man, what kind of life is this?" Catherine asked to the empty room, surveying the broken, torn and battered toys scattered around her. She picked up a teddy bear with one eye and sighed. Somewhere in the back of her mind appeared the image of a little Sara Sidle curled up in the window seat, hugging this bear tightly to her tiny chest, waiting for the day someone would come for her. Waiting for the day someone would care.

Pushing the sad thought aside, Cath placed the toy back down carefully on a wooden chest and set to work. She checked the drawers, searched under the couch. Inside the wooden chest she found a row of old dolls, lined up in once-pink dresses. Everywhere she looked there were more battered old toys and a few dilapidated books. Another image flashed to mind; Sara curled up on one of the second-hand chairs with a book, teaching herself everything she needed to know. All of a sudden the story of 'Matilda' came to mind – an abused, neglected little girl with a brilliant mind cast into a loveless world and forced to fend for herself. Except Catherine knew that there was no happy ending here; no Miss Honey to whisk little Sara away from this life.

These tragic images in her mind shattered when a loud bang threatened to bring the ceiling down.


	10. Dexies Midnight Runners

**Chapter 9**

Later that night, when the growing darkness had cut off the investigation and after the team had shared a healthy meal of takeout that Ecklie had brought back from the town, Greg was moping on his bed, passing his camera from one hand to the next.

Sara dropped down next to him.

"What's up with you?" She asked softly. He sighed.

"I thought this would be like a super cool mystery, and we'd uncover some huge murder story that happened twenty years ago." He grumbled.

"So, you're disappointed that you haven't found some tragic crime?" Sara frowned.

"No, I just want to find something. Something interesting. Rather than just mothballs." They chuckled softly.

"You've been watching too much Scooby Doo." Sara joked, nudging him playfully. He grinned.

"Scooby Dooby Doo!" He mocked. They giggled. Sara's face turned serious for a moment.

"Don't give up on this place just yet." She promised. "There's more to Buen Pastor Orfanato than meets the eye."

"What makes you so sure?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. The brunette just smiled enigmatically.

X x x

After lights out they fell into their new temporary routine: Sofia, Nick and Warrick drifted off, Greg checked through his camera footage with the volume turned down, Catherine draped her arm across Sara, and Ecklie and Grissom sprawled out on the 'double bed' like a couple of beached seals.

And for the third night running Catherine tuned into another noise. But this time it was different.

Several repetitive thuds, followed by a loud bang and clattering above. A Texan voice cut through the darkness.

"Can anyone else hear that?"

"Yeah." Cath said, "I heard it earlier too."

"So did we." Sofia added, and though no one could see her, Sara nodded in agreement.

"Same." Greg said in a timid voice.

They all listened in silence to the mysterious sounds.

The ceiling began to creak, the noise moving from one side of the room to the other and back again.

"Footsteps."

X x x

Grissom, armed with a torch, led the troop up the second set of stairs to the attic, with Ecklie practically hanging off his back like a leech. Nick and Warrick were next, followed by the girls.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Grissom fumbled with the door handle, juggling the torch with one hand. It was locked.

At the back of the group Sara felt something soft brush against her neck. At first it was just a whisper of a touch and she ignored it.

Until a hand clamped down on her shoulder. The team jumped at her sudden, sharp scream.

"Greg!" She hissed.

"Sorry." The young man mumbled, "I forgot my camera." The little silver machine glinted in the beam from Grissom's torch. The older CSI rolled his eyes and turned back to the door.

"Anyone got a bobby pin?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"What are you looking at me for?" Nick asked indignantly.

"Here, I've got one." Catherine said, passing it to Warrick, who gave it to Grissom. Sara and Sofia sent her a look. "What?" She shrugged, "you never know when you might need one."

"'And with the help of the emergency bobby pin, will we finally find out what's behind the attic door?'"

"Pack it in Greg!" Sara growled.

"'Is the fear getting to some members of our team? Should it be? Maybe we'll see when we find out what's..."

"Would anyone object if I pushed him down the stairs?"

"No." They all chimed.

With a victorious grunt, Grissom flicked the lock. He stood up straight and sighed proudly.

"Thank you." He said, handing Catherine her pin back.

"You're welcome." She said unenthusiastically, picking the cobwebs off.

With a heavy groan the door crept open, dragging decades of grime along the dark wood floor.

One by one they crept into the attic room. Strings of dust hung from the ceiling like stalactites. Every creak and click echoed in the hollow space. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the change in light in here, but gradually shapes began to turn into objects. A chair, a sofa, a chest. Boxes and boxes piled in disorganised heaps.

There was a clatter in the corner of the room. Grissom swung around, aiming his flashlight at random shapes. Sofia cocked her gun, swinging around in wild circles.

"'What lies behind the locked door?'" Greg's deep voice continued his tirade. "'Antiques, ancient treasures, what's left of the 1978 Book of World Records.'" He continued, dropping the musty tome back into its box.

"Whose idea was this again?" Catherine asked, clinging onto Sara's arm.

"Greg." Sara answered absently.

"Greg!" Cath growled.

"'Obviously the dark is getting to the crowd. Paranoia will set in soon.' What the hell!" His camera clattered to the floor.

On the video, tiny feet scampered across the upturned screen.

"It's a mouse." Sofia said.

"It's a rat!" Catherine squealed, leaping at Sara. The startled brunette caught her by the waist before she fell over. Grissom gave her an impassive look and crouched down, using his flashlight to track its path under a battered old chair. He straightened up.

"Well, I think that sums it up."

"A rat?" Nick asked incredulous. "No way could one rat have made that much noise."

"If there's one rat, there's more. That one was only a baby." Grissom pointed out.

"Okay, leaving." Catherine said, tugging Sara towards the door.

"Rodents can make a lot of noise. And in a house this size noises echo. There's nothing here." Grissom assured them

"Leaving now." Cath repeated, yanking Sara firmly by the sleeve. Greg dusted his precious camera off, hugging it close as they made their way downstairs. The door crunched close again, casting the attic into pitch blackness.

And as the team made their way back to their room, shaken but slightly more reassured, a pair of green eyes blinked in the darkness.


	11. Not Drowning, Waving

**Chapter 10**

"Guys! Guys I found something!" Greg hollered excitedly.

The wind had dropped and the sun was out, so they had decided to use this opportunity to search the garden. The front had not offered up much, but judging by Greg's enthusiastic bouncing, the back had more to tell.

They all dropped what they were doing and ventured over to see what he had found. He was hovering by a rose bush, hopping about from one foot to the other. They all gathered around the little hole he had dug.

"Bones!" He exclaimed.

And sure enough, there was a collection of small off-white bones laid in the shallow grave. Grissom and Catherine exchanged a look.

"Okay, Nick and Warrick, grab a spade and start digging, but be careful not to disturb anything. Greg," He addressed, but the young lab rat was legging it across the garden.

"Camera." Sara explained simply.

"Oh. Okay, Sara, Sofia and I are going to search the surrounding area to see if there's more. Catherine,"

"I'll call Ecklie at the lab." She finished his thought.

"Good. Greg!" He called, scowling as the young man pelted back across the overgrown lawn with his camera in hand.

"Yes Sir." He panted, filming the bones eagerly.

"You are going to photograph and analyse the bones as Nick and Warrick find them. We need to determine if they're human, and if they are, how they were killed."

Jobs assigned, they split off. Grissom, Sara and Sofia worked outwards from the initial finding, probing the dry soil for significant depth changes.

Catherine came wandering out of the house staring at her phone irritably. "My signal died!" She huffed.

"What do you mean?" Grissom asked, frowning.

"I was on the phone to Ecklie, I had full signal, and just as I was about to tell him what we found, it died. Now I can't get signal anywhere in the building or on the grounds." She scowled, perplexed. "It just died!"

"Well I wouldn't worry; we don't need to call the lab anymore." Warrick said, wiping the sweat from his brow, leaving a trail of dirt behind. "Body's not human."

"It's not?" Greg asked, disappointedly.

"Not unless kids have tails."

X x x

"I actually thought I'd found something." Greg sulked.

"You did. It just wasn't what you were expecting." Sara tried to bring him out of his funk. "Hey, you want to check the beach out with Cat and me?" His ears pricked up at the offer. She patted his shoulder and went to inform Catherine.

"Hey," he called after her, "how come you can call her that?"

X x x

"Man! No one said it was so steep down here!" He groaned, heaving his metal case by his side, his camera swinging around his neck on a cord.

"Oh come on Greggo, where's your sense of adventure." Sara chuckled, practically skipping down the steep rocky steps built into the cliff edge.

"Easy there Indiana!" Cath called after her, grabbing Greg by the collar to avoid slipping. But Sara wasn't listening. She launched herself down the last few steps, landing quite elegantly on the sand. Greg stumbled the last bit, landing significantly less elegantly on his ass.

Sara didn't seem to notice, she was already running towards the sea. Catherine stepped cautiously down the last few steps, the steepest of all, and watched her disappear. She left Greg picking himself up off the ground and dusting his pants down, following the brunette across the sand.

"Hey! Sara, wait!" she called, jogging to catch her up. "What's going on?" she asked, grabbing her arm to face her. To her surprise, Sara was smiling.

"I used to love this beach. I practically lived down here." Cath smiled softly, enjoying seeing Sara so relaxed for the first time this week. "It was the only place I really felt free, like nothing else mattered. I really couldn't have cared less if no one ever came for me when I was here." She spun around and took off towards the sea. Catherine watched her go, not sure whether to chase after her or to just laugh. Greg appeared at her side.

"What's Sara doing?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Reliving her childhood." Catherine sighed. He frowned, but she just shook her head and beckoned him to start searching.

They worked for several hours, scouring the beach for any signs of foul play, but as far as they could tell there was nothing to suggest anybody had ever set foot here. There was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, it was a beach - there was sea, sand and stones.

"Okay, I'm out." Greg sighed, pulling his jacket on. Dusk was creeping in and the wind had picked up again. "You guys coming?" Catherine turned to look at Sara, who was sat on the sand several feet away, staring out to sea.

"You go back; we'll catch you up in a little while." She said. Greg frowned again, his eyes darting between the two women suspiciously. Eventually he nodded and set off back up the cliffs, continuing to shoot them sly glances until they were out of his view.

Catherine waited until he was out of shot before untying her own jacket from around her waist and wandering over to Sara. The brunette was zoned out, staring at the blue ocean. Despite only wearing a tank top, she didn't seem to notice the cold, but Cath still draped her jacket around Sara's shoulders and sat down.

"The lighthouse doesn't work." Sara stated randomly after a few minutes. Catherine cast her eyes up to the tall shadowy structure atop the cliffs. "It used to." Cath didn't know what to say to that, so she just nodded. She shivered, wrapping her arms tight around herself against the cold. Sara glanced at her and took the jacket off shoulders, trying to put it around Catherine but the blonde stopped her; so instead she spread it out and wrapped it around them both. Cath smiled softly and Sara shuffled closer. Sand whipped around them, caught on the wind, but they barely noticed.

"Eddie." Catherine looked up sharply.

"What about Eddie?" She asked, puzzled. Sara frowned until she realised what Cath was thinking.

"No, the dog. It was called Eddie." she smiled. "I loved that mutt." They drifted back into silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the peace and each other's company.

"What's that cave?" Catherine asked, gesturing towards a tunnel built into the cliff below the lighthouse.

"We were never allowed in there. As soon as the tide comes in it gets cut off." Sara explained.

"Tides going out now." Catherine pointed out. They shared a smile.

X x x

The flashlight beam bounced off the dripping walls, reflecting light around the cave. Water dripped rhythmically from the roof, making faint clicking sounds as it splashed into puddles. The floor was damp underfoot, and the walls glistened with slime.

"Wow!" Cath grimaced at the smell.

"Cat." Sara called. Catherine ventured further into the deep tunnel, finding her colleague staring at the floor. Cath directed her flashlight at the ground, and realised what Sara was staring at.

"Footprints."

A child's footprints, to be precise. They were on a ledge, higher than the water marks from the tide, which meant they wouldn't get washed away. They could have been here for years. Sara aimed her light a little higher, showing scratch marks in the walls.

"He got trapped." Sara whispered.

"Tried to climb his way out." Cath added, letting her fingers graze the marks on the walls. She glanced at Sara, who was shaking her head sadly, tears glistening in her eyes.

X x x

"Hey, check it out." Nick said, rushing outside. He had gone back to the office, certain that he was going to find something of use in there eventually. He handed the piece of paper in his hands to Sofia. It was a newspaper article.

"What about it?" She asked. He pointed to a small article in the bottom corner.

_Missing Orphan:_

_Seven year old Tomas vanished from the Buen Pastor Orfanato on Tuesday, after playing on the private beach with the other children. Staff and police fear he may have drowned. _

That was it. Two lines for a missing child.

"Tomas." Sofia mumbled. Thunder rumbled in the distance. It was nearly dark now.

Grissom's cell phone rang.

X x x

"He died in the caves." Catherine said into the phone, having found that she could get signal in a tunnel of all places.

"Catherine? Where are you?" Grissom asked on the other end.

"We're in a tunnel in the cliffs. We think we found where he died."

"Is Sara there?"

"Yeah, she's here. Listen; there are a child's footprints in the cave, and claw marks on the walls." She explained.

"Catherine." Sara called. Cath told Gil to hold on and joined Sara near the back wall. "Fabric." Cath leant over her to see what she could. Sara pulled a glove and a small bag from her pocket and picked up the piece of grey cotton. "We used to wear grey uniforms."

"Cheerful." Cath mumbled. She held out the bag for Sara to drop it into. "Grissom, we found a piece of grey material on the wall near the back. I think the child got trapped in here, cut off from the tide, and tried to climb the walls to get higher." She laid it out, picturing the little boy scrambling to the back of the tunnel, snagging his shorts on a jagged rock, slipping under the water. She closed her eyes and shook her head, but the image remained.

X x x

"Man, he must have been terrified." Nick sighed, examining the photos the girls had taken in the cave.

Catherine and Sara were wrapped in blankets, having trekked through ankle deep water and scrambled back up the cliffs in the dark to get back.

"So, assuming this kid is the missing boy, Tomas, and he got trapped in the cave while playing on the beach," Warrick said, "why wasn't it reported?"

"And how did he end up in the lake?" Sofia added. Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"Aye, therein lies the rub."


	12. Quiet Riot

**Chapter 11**

"Okay, who's got the Doritos?" Catherine asked. Sofia passed them over, helping herself to another handful before relinquishing control of the bag.

"'Night four in the haunted orphanage, and a camp out has been issued. Will the giant rats return? Or will we find something more sinister?'"

"You'll find my foot up your ass if you don't shut it." Warrick said, eliciting a round of laughter.

A unanimous refusal to sleep due to rats and tonight's tragic findings had resulted in a stake out. Food had been brought to sustain them, and flashlights arranged to cast enough light for them to see, without draining all of their batteries. They were currently sat in a circle, blankets stripped from the beds and draped around their shoulders. Cath and Sara were next to each other, sharing one blanket. Greg was on Sara's left, pestering her with the camera. Warrick and Sofia were next, followed by Grissom. Ecklie shuffled uncomfortably next to him, and Nick was between him and Catherine.

"Okay, all in." Warrick said, dealing the cards.

They were playing poker.

X x x

"For the last time Greg, it's not strip poker! Put your pants back on!" Grissom barked.

"But they itch!" He countered, scratching his legs furiously.

"Stop scratching!" Cath ordered.

"I can't!" He wailed.

"Must be the bed sheets." Sara said, scratching her shoulder absently.

"Stop." Cath said again, grasping Sara's wrist.

"It's no good! They're gonna have to come off." Greg insisted, standing up, hands poised on his boxers.

"No!" They all hollered. Warrick grabbed him by the shirt tail and pulled him back onto the ground. "Keep your damn briefs on. You deal." He tossed the cards at him.

But the next game was halted by a series of knocking thuds. Greg fumbled for his camera. There was a moment of silence before more thuds, growing louder with each one. Panic started to grow on them all, as it dawned on them that the sound wasn't getting louder. It was getting closer.

Footsteps.

"Is George likely to drop by?" Grissom asked, a slight tremor in his voice. Ecklie just shook his head numbly, eyes fixed on the door.

The thuds stopped just outside the door.

Sofia and Nick grabbed their weapons.

Greg grabbed his camera, holding it up with his head buried under a blanket.

The door handle squeaked and clicked painfully slowly.

Nick crept closer to the door, poised in position to shoot at any intruder; be it living, dead or rodent.

Cath reached for Sara's hand but the brunette had vanished from her side and was crouching closer to the door, like a panther ready to pounce.

The heavy door creaked open and darkness flooded in from the hall.

A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Freeze!" Nick shouted, jumping up from behind the bed. Curiously, the figure didn't jump, or move, or speak. It chuckled.

"Honestly, I leave you guys alone for four days and you go all Blair Witch on me!" Jim Brass laughed. "Put that gun down, Nicky, before you hurt someone." He tapped the muzzle of the gun lightly and ambled into the room, dropping his bag to the ground with a dull thud. "So, which is my bed?"

X x x

"Jim?" Grissom queried when he regained the use of his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"San Francisco lab called me. They said due to our ladies unplanned exploration of the caves," he sent them a pointed look, "it looked like a homicide detective was needed and they couldn't spare any so, here I am." He explained. "And it looks like I got here just in time." He chortled, eyeing the playing cards, discarded food and huddled mass of CSIs in blankets.

"We were playing poker." Nick explained abashed, settling back down on his pillow. Brass picked something up off the floor and looked at it bemusedly.

"For jellybeans?"

X x x

Once Brass had given a brief detailing of his train journey and taxi ride here, and they had in turn explained why they were sat up playing card games for candy, they decided they should probably go to bed.

Though none would say it, they felt safer with the older detective around, whether it be because of his seeming inability to get scared, or because of his disregarding attitude to the strange occurrences at Buen Pastor.

"I don't believe in ghosts." Was all he had to say on the matter.

"'Detective Brass, fearless protector. Too fearless, perhaps?'" Greg circled him with the camera. Jim cocked an eyebrow.

"What's he doing?" he asked.

"Playing Spielberg." Sofia answered.

"Ah." Brass nodded, turning his attention to Greg. "If I get killed off in some cheesy horror spoof, you know who I'm going to haunt don't you. And I can haunt you all day Sanders, I have no social life." The camera promptly went away.

"Come on guys, I think we've had enough excitement for one night." Ecklie said, dusting the crumbs off his mattress.

"Nice PJs there Conrad." Brass commented, noticing the man for the first time.

"Thanks." Ecklie grumbled. "Now come on, bed time." He snapped.

"Wait, where's Jim gonna sleep?" Warrick pointed out. As of now, there were eight beds and nine people. They all looked at each other. Brass grinned.

"Relax Conrad, I don't bite. I do snore, but that won't be a problem, right?" He joked. Ecklie didn't get it. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"Have mine Jim, Sara and I can share." Cath volunteered.

"You sure? These beds are pretty small." He noted Grissom and Ecklie on the makeshift double. The broken bits of wood were heaped in a pile at the bottom. "And weak."

"We'll be fine." She promised.

With that settled, Brass made himself uncomfortable in his new bed, and everyone else shuffled under their own blankets. The rubbish from their night of games was abandoned in the middle of the room and the lights were switched off.

Catherine and Sara stared dumbly at the bed. Having made the offer, Catherine now realised that she had no idea how they were actually going to do this. But somehow they managed to pull it off.

They found that lying on their sides, very close together; they could both fit in the small bed. Sara, not usually one for being so close to her colleagues, was practically balanced on the edge. Catherine, however, wouldn't have that and snaked her arms around the brunette's waist, pulling her tight against her chest.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled against Sara's ear. Sara shuffled, trying to put more space between them, but every attempt caused Cath to tighten her grip and eventually Sara gave up and let Catherine hold her. "Good girl." Cath whispered when she stopped resisting.

It did cross both their minds that being in such an intimate position with a work colleague could potentially cause some awkwardness, but right now Catherine didn't care. It seemed with every new thing she discovered about Sara her urge to protect the girl grew tenfold.

And once she resigned herself to this sleeping position, Sara found that she actually didn't mind. For the first time since arriving here, she did not make a sound all night. No whimpers, no cries. She slept, soundly and safely, in Catherine's arms.

The thuds, however, continued.


	13. Savage Garden

**Chapter 12**

"No Gil, for the last time, I don't want to see your peaches." Brass huffed, abandoning him on the patio to join the rest of the team.

They had decided to focus on the path from the beach and the area around the woods to see if there was evidence of anyone bringing the child's body from the cave to the lake. Catherine, Greg and Warrick took the path at the front of the house, while Grissom, Sara and Sofia took the edge of the woods at the back of the house. Ecklie was ... surveying (or so he said). Nick had decided to go back to the office and see what he could find, and Brass opted to help him out rather than dig around in the dirt.

And after a few hours it seemed the back was willing to give up more secrets.

"Hey guys!" Grissom hollered, standing over by a large tree. "I think I got something!"

X x x

Sara, however, knew nothing of this. She had wandered off.

Hidden behind the thick undergrowth, she meandered through the trees, letting her thoughts wander. She had tried to block out the memories that seemed incessant on flooding her mind, but they were not having it, so she gave up and let them flow.

And being here, wandering through the trees that made up so much of her childhood, she remembered everything. The games they used to play, the children she grew up with, the nuns.

She was so lost in her past that she completely missed a large branch on the ground and went flying. She landed with a thud, narrowly missing a pile of thistles. With a groan she picked herself back up and dusted herself off. She glanced around self-consciously, but she was deep enough into the woods now that no one could have heard her (or so she thought).

As she re-gathered her bearings, she noticed something else; a smell.

Death.

She looked around, trying to locate an origin. Hey dark eyes settled on something that she had forgotten even existed. The coal bunker.

She walked in a circle around it. It was a stone square, now long overgrown by weeds. They got told all the time not to go near it, but they never listened. Made for a great hiding place in Hide and Seek. She remembered a kid getting smacked for it once after they got locked in. She shook her head. Back to the case.

She contemplated going back and telling the guys, but something stopped her. Curiosity, maybe. A desperate need for answers, more likely.

The brunette crouched down and tugged the matted plants away from the small wooden door. Just as she was wondering how to get the ancient, rotting door open – for it was sure to be sealed tight after all these years – it swung freely in its rusted hinges. The lock was bust.

And before Sara had a chance to accept what she was seeing, she heard a footfall...

X x x

"And I thought Grissom's filing system was dyslexic." Brass moaned, brushing his fingers across dusty folders.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Nick agreed. "Warrick and I spent two days sorting through this crap."

He was flicking through the piles of paperwork they had organised, attempting to separate the 'possibly useful' from the 'pointless rubbish'.

They had been at this for a good few hours before Nicky stumbled across something good, stuck to the back of a manual to work the radio.

X x x

They had all gathered around Grissom's discovery. It was a semi-dug hole by the bottom of the tree. The soil was solid and it was quite obvious that this hole had been there a while – there were grooves in the tree trunk from where the shovel had dented it. It looked like someone had been trying to dig something up.

Or bury something.

As they discussed the possible meaning of this, Catherine realised something.

"Hey, where's Sara?"

As they all wore a unanimous look that said 'I don't know', Nick came rushing out of the kitchen door like a bullet, followed shortly after by Brass, who looked more like a puffed up bear.

"Hey guys! Guys! Look what I found!" He panted, waving the piece of paper at them breathlessly. Sofia took it from him. It was a birth certificate for a little boy called Tomas.

They all exchanged a look. Could be...

X x x

"Sara?" Cath called, wandering through the thick wooded patch. They had each shared their findings briefly, but Sara still had not returned and darkness was falling quickly now, so they had set off searching the woods for her.

Sofia and Nick had checked the house, Brass and Warrick the front and Griss, Greg and Cath the back. She was nowhere in sight. And having exhausted every other option, they figured she had to be here.

But the light was starting to fade, and it was cloudy today. That factored with the trees overhead left them with very little light.

Catherine was so caught up looking for the brunette that she tripped over a tree branch and would have gone flying, if not for Warrick's strong grip on her arm.

"Thanks." She mumbled, straightening up.

"Hey!" Sofia called them over. "Oh my God!" She gasped. She was crouched down by the coal bunker, having detected the same thing Sara had; only it was much stronger now. The wooden door creaked as it swung on its hinges. And the thing that had taken her breath away, the thing that took Sara's breath away (literally) was spilling out of the door onto the weeds.

Bodies. Six black bin liners filled with sand, each with a child's dead, decomposed body.

"Oh my God." Cath parroted, taking a step back, clamping a hand over her mouth to stop the bile that threatened to rise.

"Blood." Warrick pointed to the small patch of red on the grass. "It's fresh." But before they even had a chance to register what this meant, Greg's high-pitched scream pulled their attention towards the lake.

The lake where Sara was floating face down in the water.


	14. Pretty Girls Make Graves

**Is only short but I couldn't leave you hanging all night. **

**And, completely off topic, I move into Uni in 10 hours!**

**x x x x**

**Chapter 13**

Bitter cold water splashed up his legs and back, but he didn't notice as he crashed though the lake. It was shallow at the edges, but by the time he reached Sara the water was up to Nick's waist. He lifted his friend up, supporting her limp body against his own. Behind him he could hear Warrick splashing towards them. Scooping her into his arms, he started back towards land. Dark strands of her damp hair clung to her face, and her arm draped itself loosely across his shoulders. The rest of the team waited with baited breath at the water's edge. Grissom was stood up to his ankles, while Sofia was pacing with her phone, presumably trying to call an ambulance.

Warrick stopped where he was and waited for Nick to reach him. The Texan, now a little sluggish due to the water soaking into his clothes, passed Sara over, and Warrick carried her to solid ground, while Greg helped Nick struggle the last few steps and the pair of them collapsed onto the grass in a heap.

Warrick placed Sara gently on the floor, and Catherine immediately dropped to her knees and felt for breathing ... a pulse ... anything!

Getting nothing, she tilted Sara's head back and started mouth to mouth. Brass crouched down as well and, remembering as much of his first aid training as he could, started chest compressions.

Sofia was still pacing, trying to get enough signal on her phone to dial emergency services, casting anxious glances at the unconscious brunette every few seconds. Ecklie was twitching nearby.

All anyone else could do was stand and watch their friend cling onto life. Tears sparkled in Greg's eyes as he willed his best friend to hold on. Nick and Warrick held each other up, panting breathlessly but not caring. At least they could still breathe.

"Come on Sara, breath!" Catherine begged, forcing air into her lungs. "Don't you dare leave me." She sat back on her heels, tears streaming down her face, watching Jim put his whole energy into saving Sara. Not knowing what else to do, she prayed. She closed her eyes and she sent silent prayers to a God she didn't think she believed in anymore. One glance at Grissom showed that he was doing the same thing.

And somebody must have been listening.

With a cough and a splutter, Sara's dark eyes blinked open.

Catherine almost howled with thanks, as she wrapped her arms around Sara, clinging to her with every ounce of strength she had left.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" She sobbed into Sara's drenched skin.

Slowly, stiffly, Sara lifted her arms and returned the embrace. And that simple action was enough to convince the team to release the breath they didn't realise they had been holding. She was bruised, and she was scared, and she was cold.

But she was alive.

X x x

It was only when Catherine was finally prised free from Sara, and the brunette managed to sit up and be wrapped up in several jackets, that they noticed the stream of blood creeping down the side of her neck.

"What happened Sara?" Grissom asked, crouching next to her. She tried to talk but the attempt nearly made her throw up. Cath rubbed her back in soothing circles until she calmed down enough to stutter one word:

"Woman."

Her eyes were wide and startled as they darted around fearfully. The guys glanced through the trees, but the light was fading fast and they couldn't see much.

Sofia had given up calling for help. It seemed her phone did not want to work right now.

"Come on, we need to get her inside." Catherine insisted. She took one side and Nick took the other, and between them they got her on her feet. She swayed for a moment, steadied only by their hands on her sides. Her arms were draped around their shoulders and they half-walked, half-carried her back towards the house. Catherine had a tight grip around her, and kept nuzzling the side of her face, peppering kisses on her cheek and mumbling reassuring words in her ear. Nick gripped her carefully with his strong arms around her waist. Though he was more focussed on walking in a straight line then Cath was, he couldn't resist planting a kiss in her hair, just to check she was really okay.

Grissom and Ecklie led the group, casting anxious glances over their shoulders every now and then. Brass, Sofia and Warrick kept lookout for the 'woman' as they made their way through the woods, but as far as they could see there was no one in sight.

They never saw her step out from the shadows.


	15. Truth

**Chapter 14**

"Alright sweetie, it's okay." Cath soothed as they got her sat on the end of Nick's (formally Catherine's) bed. The older woman knelt down in front of her and brushed her damp hair away from her face, revealing the gash on the right side of her forehead. Without tearing her eyes away, she addressed the boys. "Get out."

"What?" Grissom asked, not quite sure who she was talking to. She turned to him with a look of obvious irritation.

"Get out. All of you." She repeated, turning back to Sara, who was shivering quietly on the bed.

"Why?"

"Privacy Gil. She needs to change." Cath spelt it out for him. The guys all slinked out, not wanting to leave her alone, but understanding the need. Cath would take care of Sara, but she would also afford her some modesty. However, she was willing to make one exception. "Sofia."

The blonde detective stopped in the doorway. At Catherine's beckoning she moved back to the bed and awaited instructions. She decided it was best to keep her mouth shut and let the older woman lead.

Catherine peeled the wet shirt off, lifting it over Sara's head carefully so as not to further injure her. "Sofia, get me some clean clothes and a towel." She instructed, letting her fingers stroke Sara's skin tentatively. Sofia rummaged through Sara's belongings, feeling like an intruder but at the same time not really caring right now. She pulled out a long sleeved shirt and a pair of soft pyjama pants, since they were the only thing that weren't jeans. And she grabbed the first towel she saw off someone's bed.

Dashing back across the room, she was about to hand the items to Cath when something caught her breath.

"Catherine." She mumbled weakly, pointing to Sara's back. It appeared to have turned into one large graze, presumably where she had been dragged to the water's edge.

"Oh!" Cath gasped. "Okay, water and medical supplies." She ordered, and Sofia ransacked all the bags in the room until she had a makeshift first aid kit and a couple of bottles of water.

Catherine doused a cloth with the water and used it to gently clean the area. As it turned out, the blood made it look worse than it was. She gently dabbed the scratches with rubbing alcohol, trying not to put Sara in any more pain than she had to. Not that it mattered, because it seemed the cold water had numbed her entire body, as she didn't so much as flinch at the stinging pain.

With her back cleaned and dressed, Catherine carefully dried her skin with the towel and tugged the long sleeved top over her head, letting her fingers trace Sara's sides tenderly as she did so. Sofia wasn't really sure what to do with herself now, so she sat behind Sara and hesitantly took her hand. Thankfully, Sara gripped it back, though she was probably not aware of it. She stared straight ahead, still shivering, as Catherine finished drying her skin and changing her clothes.

There was a quiet knock at the door and Nick poked his head around, hand over his eyes.

"Hey, can we come back in yet?" He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, it's okay." Cath answered, beginning to tend to the gash on her forehead.

They all filed back in, every one of them giving Sara a once over to check she was in one piece.

"How is she?" Grissom asked, bulleting to her side.

"Cold." Catherine answered, wrapping a blanket tightly around her. "But she'll live."

"Do we know what happened?" Warrick asked, sitting on his bed. Sofia was about to answer, but Sara beat her to it.

"It was a woman." She repeated. Her voice was husky and weak. "She hit me by the coal bunker ... the bunker!" Her eyes widened and she stumbled over her words as she tried to explain, but Catherine cut her off with a finger over her lips.

"Shush, it's okay. We found them." She assured the brunette. Sara nodded, calming down slightly.

"The woman? What did she look like?" Grissom asked, getting her back on track.

"I don't know." Sara shook her head. "I didn't get a good look at her."

"But you must have seen something." Ecklie pressed. Sara shook her head again, struggling to answer.

"She was older, wearing black. I think I'd recognise her again but..."

"You must have seen more than that." He snapped.

"She didn't." Cath answered for her. And this time he got the message loud and clear.

"Who would do this? And why?" Greg asked, pacing.

"She doesn't want us here." Sara mumbled, locking her eyes onto Catherine's.

"You think she had something to do with the case?" Nick asked.

"She could have worked here." Greg offered, but Sara mumbled her disagreement.

"She didn't. I don't think. I didn't recognise her."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, frowning.

"I came here as a child."


	16. Rolling Stones

**Chapter 15**

Everyone's, with the exception of Catherine's, jaw dropped.

"You came here." Grissom repeated. "As a child."

"I was seven."

"You were an orphan?" he asked, beginning to pace. Sara frowned.

"Sort of." She answered. "I left when I was nearly ten." She swallowed. "Those children; they were my friends." Her voice was barely a whisper. Catherine wrapped her arms around her shoulders, holding the shaking girl against her stomach. Grissom fixed the blonde with a look.

"You knew." He declared. She nodded.

"She told me the first night here." A look of understanding crossed their faces as they recalled the first night – finding Catherine asleep on the stairs and Sara nowhere in sight.

"You didn't say anything." Grissom actually sounded hurt.

"How could I?" She asked. "It wasn't my place to. Besides, I've been keeping an eye on her."

"Yeah, great job you did of that!" Ecklie scoffed.

"So this is my fault?" Cath asked indignantly. "I was the one who noticed she was missing, remember."

"Hey, guys come on. This isn't helping." Warrick said, holding up his hands.

Suddenly Nick had a thought.

"Hold on." He said, leaping to his feet and dashing out of the door. He returned, slightly out of breath, waving the photograph he had found on the first day. Grissom took it and raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, but Sofia understood.

"Do you recognise the kids?" she asked. Sara took the picture in trembling hands and nodded. She pointed weakly to each of them.

"She liked to be called Martὶn," she tapped the little blonde girl on the left. "That's Alicia, Rita, Guillermo; he was deaf. Victor and Aurora, she lost her right leg to meningitis aged 3." Her fingertip hovered over the last child, a tiny brunette with a gap between her front teeth. "That's me."

Her fingers stroked the dusty picture tenderly, sadness clouding her eyes. She frowned softly, tracing the face of a woman at the back of the photo, with the staff. She tapped it lightly.

"It was her." Catherine and Grissom leant over her, squinting at the woman. She appeared to be in her early thirties. Her hair was scraped back into a tight bun and she was wearing a grey cardigan over a long dress.

"The woman who attacked you?" Cath asked. She nodded. "Do you recognise her?"

"No."

"But she worked there." Grissom pointed out.

"I don't remember her. She might not have been there very long." Sara said. She looked harder at the photo. "This was taken a few weeks before I left. Maybe she'd only just started."

"You're sure you don't recognise her?" Ecklie asked again.

"I'm sure." She repeated.

"Enough Ecklie." Catherine ordered. "Call the police; get some uniforms scouring the place."

"Already done." Brass announced, waving his phone as he re-entered. "How's she doing?" He gestured to Sara, who seemed to have zoned out. Cath nudged her and Sara looked up tiredly.

"She needs rest." The blonde stated.

"Wait, so this woman used to work here. And as soon as we start investigating, she attacks a member of our team, who just happened to live here." Greg said. "Don't we need to figure this out?"

"Yes," Catherine agreed. "But not tonight. Right now she needs sleep." She started to pull Sara up to her feet, but Ecklie stopped her.

"Just a few more questions. What was the weapon?"

"I don't know." Sara answered.

"Was she alone?"

"I don't know."

"Did she speak to you?"

"I ..."

"Enough Conrad." Catherine barked. He shut up, but was clearly not happy about it.

Blue lights flashed outside and the wail of a siren alerted them to the local police arriving. Brass and Sofia headed downstairs to deal with them, while Cath and Nick escorted a practically comatose Sara across the room to her bed. Cath tucked her in, still wrapped in the blanket, and brushed a damp strand of hair from her eyes. Sara mumbled something, but she was already drifting off. Cath and Nick exchanged a smile.

"Concussion!" Grissom exclaimed at once, but that thought had already crossed Catherine's mind.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll check on her during the night." She assured them all.

"Okay, they're all set up." Brass declared as he returned, followed by Sofia. "They're circling the grounds, and they're going to radio us if they see or hear anything. Two of them are downstairs in case anyone's in the house.

"Good." Cath sighed.

"Well, I think we all need some sleep." Nick announced, yawning to emphasise his point.

"Yes. We can go through this tomorrow, when we've got clear heads and Sara's had some sleep." Grissom agreed.

"She's way ahead of you there, Boss." Nick chuckled, smiling down at his friend.

X x x

"Hey Jim, you awake?" Cath whispered into the darkness.

"Yeah, you can't sleep?" The aging detective struggled to sit up, lying back against the headboard.

"No." She sat up too, eliciting a soft grumble from Sara, who had been snuggled against her chest quite comfortably. "I just can't get that image of her out of my head. She was so lifeless." She sighed, subconsciously running a hand through Sara's hair.

"I know." He agreed. "But she's okay. She's gonna be okay." He assured her. They were both quiet for a moment, letting the day's events sink in. After a while, Brass spoke. "So, about this whole orphanage thing, you knew that?"

"Yeah, I found her downstairs playing that old piano on the first night. She told me then."

"Huh" was all he said.

"She's been through so much, Jim. From the day she was born she was thrown in the deep end. An abusive father, who she watched killed by her own mother; abandoned in an orphanage run by nuns who didn't even speak English, and then ripped out of there and stuck in foster care for the next few years. What kind of childhood is that?" Though he couldn't see it, he knew she was crying and reached out to rest a hand on her arm.

"Hey, hey. She's okay now. She's safe. That's all we can do for her now, keep her safe." Cath nodded, unconsciously pressing Sara tighter to her. The brunette's head was resting in her lap, and Sara snuggled closer, nuzzling Cath's leg softly.

"I keep picturing her here." Catherine said after a while. "Alone, waiting to be loved. I mean, I'm sure they cared for her, but it's not the same. Not like having a family around you."

"She has a family now. She has us." Jim pointed out. "You know; I love Ellie, you know I do. But Sara's..." he paused, not sure how to phrase this. "There's always been something about that girl. I feel like I need to look after her, to..."

"Protect her." Cath finished his thought. "She's a lot more vulnerable than she pretends to be. She's been damaged." The older woman sighed. "I just... no child should have to go through that. No child. And even now, when she's sorted her life out and made something of herself, her past still manages to hurt her. She could have been killed tonight."

"For a minute there I thought we had lost her." Jim admitted, slyly wiping away a stray tear. He had not cried in years, he was not going to start now. "It won't happen again. For all intents and purposes I have already lost one daughter, I will not lose another."


	17. Under The Radar

**Chapter 16**

"Okay, so let's start at the beginning." Ecklie began pacing around the kitchen table. "You came here as a child. Sometime after you left, a little boy was trapped in the cave and drowned, and somehow moved to the lake." He listed. "And as we start investigating, you get attacked by someone who used to work here that you don't remember." He paused, glancing at Sara who had her head resting on folded arms on the table. "Anything to add?" He addressed the group.

"Yeah," Nick chimed in. "I got a call from the coroner's office this morning; they created a reconstruction of the little boy's face. He is not one of the boys on the picture, and according to the facial structure, he was severely disfigured."

"Do you remember any other boys?" Grissom asked Sara. She shook her head, lifting it slowly off the table.

"No, there was only Guillermo and Victor."

"Nick, where's that newspaper article?" Sofia asked, suddenly remembering the piece. He disappeared to the office and returned with the clipping.

"Tomas. Do you remember a Tomas?" Ecklie asked. Again Sara shook her head.

"There were only seven of us. I'd have remembered if he lived there." She insisted.

"Like you remembered the woman who you say attacked you." He sneered. Cath stepped behind Sara's chair and placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Stop it Ecklie. This is hard enough for her." She chastised. She leant down to whisper something in Sara's ear, and Sara nodded. Everyone was quiet for a moment, not sure what else to say. Finally, Sara spoke.

"We have to go back to the lake. That's where the evidence is."

X x x

Sara glanced uneasily at the lake, shuddering as last night's memory flooded her mind. She could still remember the taste of the water in her mouth, the sting of it in her eyes. The cold coursing through her body. Catherine wrapped an arm around her, drawing her back from the memory.

"You okay?" She asked softly. Sara nodded.

The police scouring the grounds last night had had very little to report, so they decided it was safe to investigate the area. However, Brass had insisted on having one officer guarding Sara at all times. Not that it was a necessity, since she had no intention of wandering off again.

She wouldn't go near the water's edge, and could not face the thought of going back to the coal bunker, so she, Catherine and Brass checked through the trees for areas of disturbance. Nick, Grissom and Greg took the lake side, leaving Warrick and Sofia with the heartbreaking job of dealing with the children's bodies.

The bunker was filled with lumps of coal and sacks of sand. Stuffed inside some of the hessian sacks were the bodies of the orphans. Carefully, with assistance from a local coroner who had been dispatched to help, they removed every tiny white bone from the makeshift body bags. Sofia picked something up and dusted the sand off it. She held it up for Warrick to see.

"Hey Sara," he called. The brunette looked up from what she was doing. "Didn't you say one of the kids was deaf?"

"Guillermo." She answered sadly. Warrick nodded, placing the little hearing aid in a plastic bag.

"Guillermo." He repeated, touching the small skull.

They worked for hours, tediously laying out the skeletons of the children. Six in total. One of them was missing a leg, and inside her sack they found a metal crutch.

"Aurora." Sara whispered, appearing behind Warrick. He looked up at her. She had unshed tears in her eyes. The dark skinned man reached up and placed a strong hand on her hip. Sara stepped away from his touch and ran off, disappearing into the woods. Warrick sent Catherine a lost look. She just shook her head sadly and took off after Sara.

As soon as the bodies were taken away, Sofia and Warrick set to work on the bunker. It was partially covered in weeds and thistles, but they could see the ancient stone underneath was chipped and worn away from the elements. The wooden door was battered, but still in one piece. Except, that is, for the rusted iron padlock. It had been broken. And judging by the damage colour, it was fairly recently.

"Hey Rick." Sofia called. She held up a shovel. "I think I know what she hit Sara with." Warrick walked over and examined the shovel. There was a small patch of blood on the blade.

"Man, that had to hurt." He winced. "This could have been what was used to break the lock on the bunker." He mused, examining the blade more closely. At one edge he could see scrapes in the metal.

"I'll check for fingerprints."

X x x

"Sara! Sara, wait!" Catherine called, almost tripping over a log as she ran. She grabbed Sara by the back of the t-shirt, pulling her to a sudden stop. "My God girl, you can move." She gasped, gripping her by the arm. Sara tried and failed to pull away. Tears were streaming down her face now. "Hey, come here babe." Catherine hushed, pulling her into a tight hug. "Shush, shush. It's alright baby girl, I've got you." She didn't quite know where these pet names were coming from but they appeared to be helping so she carried on. After a while Sara had calmed down, but she still seemed reluctant to let go of the blonde.

"Who would do something like this?" she whispered, clinging onto Catherine fiercely.

"I don't know sweetie. But we'll find out. I promise."

X x x

"Hey Griss, we found a shovel by the bunker. There's blood on the blade, could have been what knocked Sara out. Sofia's still checking out the bunker." Warrick said, making his way carefully to the lake. "What have you guys got?"

"Nothing much." Nick answered, tossing a twig down sulkily. "Where's Sara?"

Just at that moment, Cath and Sara wandered back into their sight. Sara stopped just shy of the slope down to the lake, frowning in concentration. Catherine carried on down the slope, nearly skidding onto her ass several times. Sara looked back the way they had come, focussing on the log that had tripped her up the day before. She cast her gaze upwards, at the tree it had fallen from. It was slanted. Her eyes followed it to the base, which was submerged in the lake.

"It's higher." She said at last. Everyone looked up at her in bemusement. "The water level." She clarified. "It's higher than it used to be." She stepped closer, still not coming anywhere near the edge. "There used to be a bank, just there," She pointed to where Nick and Greg were stood, "that dropped into the lake. That tree never used to be under water." Grissom listened thoughtfully to her words. An idea struck him.

"Nick, go stand at the base of that tree." He ordered. Nick waded through the water and stood next to the tree. The water was up to his knees. Until, that is, he took one more step to the right and one foot sank into soft mud.

"Urgh!" He groaned, trying to yank his foot back out. Warrick and Greg ambled over to yank him out. Grissom did not look all that surprised. He splashed towards them, shining his flashlight through the murky water. Through the swirling muck he could see a shallow hole at the bottom of the tree. He reached down and grasped something that was half buried in the mud. He pulled the grimy, once-blue blanket up for everyone to see.

And finally they understood.

It was a grave.


	18. Kiss

**Chapter 17**

"So, presuming this child is Tomas, he gets trapped in the caves, cut off by the tide, and drowns. Someone finds him and buries him by the lake." Warrick started.

"Over the years the lake rises, washing away the bank, and engulfs the bottom of the tree. It was only a shallow grave, and the mud's soft." Nick continued.

"The body's washed up, bones float to the other side of the lake, and are found by two teenagers." Catherine finished.

"Good job guys." Ecklie praised. They had migrated back to the kitchen when darkness fell, and were currently discussing the facts over a cup of coffee.

"This is still dependent on the results of the soil analysis of course." Grissom pointed out.

"That woman must have found out that people were investigating the area and panicked, come back to remove the other kids bodies before they were found." Warrick speculated. "That's why she smashed the lock on the bunker, and attacked Sara."

"Because I found them." She finished quietly. Catherine rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"So we still don't know who she is or why she did this?" Ecklie asked.

"Or why she only buried one child and left the rest in hessian sacks." Sofia added.

"The lab is running the fingerprints off the shovel, and DNA off the blanket." Greg said. "And the rest of the bones that were found in the grave."

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Wow." Warrick sighed at last. He placed a hand over Sara's making her jump. She had lapsed into a bit of a trance. "You doing okay, girl?" He asked. She nodded, offering a soft smile.

"So what now?" Greg asked.

"We wait for the labs results, and keep looking for records. Maybe we'll find staff records."

"If it was run by a family that owned the church, shouldn't they have the records?" Nick asked.

"They sold up years ago." Sofia answered. "The church has been disused for about twenty years, ever since ..."

She was cut off by Ecklie nearly falling off his chair. He had a mouthful of hot coffee that he was making strange startled noises around, and pointing manically at the window. They all turned around.

The pale face disappeared in a flash.

X x x

"Just find that damn woman!" Brass growled down the radio. "If she hurts anyone else, it'll be your ass on the line." He slammed it down, taking a deep breath. His eyes fell on Sara. She was sat quietly in the corner, her gaze fixed on the window. Catherine was perched on the arm of her chair, one arm around her shoulders. Jim walked over and placed a strong hand on Sara's shoulder, gaining her attention. "You'll be okay." He insisted. She nodded silently. As he walked away, Jim caught Catherine's eye.

"So, what did they have to say for themselves?" Ecklie demanded.

"The cops did not see or hear anyone enter the premises, but they are going to conduct a full search and place watchers on every entrance." Brass reeled off. Ecklie just rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself.

"Well there's nothing else we can do tonight, and I don't think we should stay downstairs so why don't we try to get some sleep, and see if we have any results by morning." Sofia suggested, to which they all agreed.

X x x

When Catherine awoke the first thing she noticed was that Sara was no longer in her arms. She sat up so suddenly that she nearly knocked the brunette off the bed. She was curled up, arms wrapped around her legs, at the end of the bed staring at the window.

"Oh, Sara." Cath sighed. "What are you doing honey?" She asked, reaching out to touch her arm softly. However, the unexpected contact made the brunette jump and she turned to Catherine with a startled look. "It's okay," Cath whispered, reaching out again, more tentatively this time.

"Sorry." Sara mumbled.

"Couldn't sleep?" Sara shook her head.

"I ... I keep seeing her." Sara stuttered, pointing weakly at the window. Cath's eyes flicked instinctively to the murky glass. There was no one there.

"Come on sweetheart." She called softly, tugging her back under the covers. "No one's going to hurt you." Sara lay back down, but her whole body was so tense she was shaking. Catherine wrapped her arms around Sara's slim waist and pulled her close, resting her chin on the top of Sara's head. She could feel the younger woman's hot, unsteady breath on her chest. "Shush, it's alright sweetie, I've got you." She assured her, rubbing comforting circles on her back in an attempt to stop the hiccupping sobs racking her body. "You should think yourself lucky; most people have to buy me dinner before they get into my bed." She joked quietly.

"It's my bed." Sara pointed out with a small smile. Cath nudged her playfully under the covers. They were quiet for a moment as Sara started to calm down.

"See, you just need to take your mind off this." Cath shushed her, holding her close.

"Easy for you to say. No one's trying to kill you." Sara mumbled. All of a sudden Catherine rolled on top of her, hands either side of her head. Her eyes locked onto Sara's fiercely.

"No one is going to hurt you baby, I promise." Then, out of the blue, she kissed her. It was only brief, but the effect it had on Sara was immense. And almost as soon as Catherine's lips found hers, they were gone again, and Cath rolled off her friend. Sara just laid there, stunned, and let Cath shuffle them back to their original position.

"What was that for?" She asked eventually, finding her voice unusually dry.

"Making a point." Catherine answered sleepily, yawning. She held Sara tight, letting her fingers caress the available skin at the base of her back tenderly until they fell asleep.

And just as she dozed off, Sara could have sworn she felt Catherine place a soft kiss into her hair.

**x x x x **

**Hope you're all enjoying so far, let me know what you think :) **


	19. Graveland

**Sorry for the delay; first week of uni has been a bit crazy. Hope you like, will try to get next chap up sooner x**

**x x x x**

**Chapter 18**

"Human remains." Nick sighed, coming back into the lounge and flopping into a chair. They had determined that, dusty sofas aside, the lounge was more comfortable then the kitchen.

"Okay," Grissom nodded. "DNA?"

"Matches the body. That little boy was wrapped in a blue blanket and buried by the tree, and eventually washed up." The Texan continued. All of a sudden Greg, just out of the shower, came flying into the room like a bat out of hell. Without a word he began pulling up cushions, elbowing people in the face in the process.

"What are you doing?" Catherine demanded when he nearly knocked her off the couch.

"It's gone." He mumbled.

"What's gone?" She asked, frowning.

"My camera. It's gone."

"Gone?" Warrick asked.

"Gone! Disappeared! Vanished!" He chanted, still hunting.

"You mean you've lost it." Sofia clarified. He stood up straight, hands on his hips.

"I left it on the table by my bed, and when I woke up it was gone." He explained.

"Are you sure you left it there?" Grissom asked.

"Yes! It's just ... gone." He sat down despondently next to Sara.

"Huh, that's weird. All my socks disappeared too." Brass chimed in. "I've only got the ones I had on yesterday now."

"Oh, I wondered what that smell was." Nick joked playfully.

"I washed my feet." The detective insisted.

"Wash you're damn socks too next time." Warrick joined in.

"Hey, they're just warming up. Give it a day or two." Brass grinned.

"Man, you just enjoy making us suffer don't you?" Warrick chuckled, standing up and stretching.

"Ah, you CSIs got no chops." Brass laughed, following suit.

They all started to file out, except for Sara, who caught Catherine's sleeve. The blonde turned to face her with a curious look. Warrick stopped in the doorway and cast them a glance.

"We'll catch you up." Cath said. He nodded and left them to it. Alone, she turned back to Sara. "You okay?" She asked, her maternal instinct kicking in immediately.

"Yeah." Sara whispered hoarsely. She cleared her throat, but didn't speak again until Cath fixed her with a raised eyebrow expectantly. "Last night..." the brunette started, but words seemed to be failing her right now. Catherine's lips spread into a smirk as it dawned on her what she was trying to say.

"You're wondering why I kissed you." She guessed. Sara's cheeks flushed pink and she nodded shyly. Cath chuckled, tugging her back onto the couch. "I didn't mean to offend you or ... scare you." She promised, taking Sara's hand. "I just wanted you to know that I care about you." Sara nodded, not really sure what to say, or even why she brought it up.

"You didn't. Offend me, I mean." She said at last. Cath smiled and leant forward, brushing her lips against Sara's. This time Sara responded, applying a little more pressure to the kiss. Cath pulled back and smiled again, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Sara's ear.

"Come on." She pulled Sara to her feet and led her to the rest of the group.

The young brunette was now even more confused than she had been last night, but right now she didn't really care.

X x x

"Fuck!" Nick's voice echoed off the old walls.

"What's up?" Warrick hollered to him. The Texan sloped into the kitchen sheepishly.

"Did you move that box that had the photo and the files in?" He asked.

"No." Warrick answered. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"I can't find it. It's gone." Nick sat down despondently. "I've looked everywhere." He ran a hand through his hair. "Man, it had everything in it."

"Like my camera." Greg piped up sadly.

"Maybe we should get the cops to search the house in case someone's got inside." Warrick suggested.

"I did hear those noises again last night, maybe there's someone in the attic." Sofia added, shuffling uncomfortably in her seat.

"They never did find that woman. Maybe she got in." Greg said, wide-eyed at the thought.

"Jim, radio the cops. Get a full search of the house." Grissom ordered, but jumped when Sara's hand clamped down on his arm.

"No. Don't." She said. And without another word she stood up and left the room. Everyone exchanged confused glances and looked at Catherine for some sort of explanation. The blonde just followed her out wordlessly.

"If you plan on making a habit of this we're going to have to come up with some sort of warning signal." She sighed, catching up with Sara in the hall. The younger woman initially had her back to Cath, but when she turned around there were tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" Catherine asked, all humour gone from her voice.

"It's them." Sara choked out.

"Who?"

"The children."


	20. Lost And Found

**Chapter 19**

"We used to play this game." Sara spoke quietly, eyes fixed forwards. They were sat on the bottom step of the stairs, in the same place they had been the first night here. "Kind of like hide and seek. You take something precious belonging to the other person and hide it. Then you leave clues. Each clue leads to a new place, and another clue." She explained.

"Sounds like orienteering." Cath joked softly. Sara smiled.

"I guess it is a little." She agreed.

"So, you're saying the children are taking things and hiding them?" Cath asked, frowning. She was tempted to point out to Sara that the kids were dead, but decided now was probably not the time.

"Mhmm."

"And we need to ..." She pressed when it was clear Sara was not going to offer any more.

"We need to find their first clue." The brunette said, her eyes darkening. Once again, without warning, she stood up and stalked back to the kitchen.

"Sara!" Cath growled, picking herself up and following her.

"Brass," Sara called calmly from the threshold. "Where do you keep your socks?" He looked at her blankly.

"My socks?"

"Yes. Where were they?" The guys sent Catherine confused looks, but she just shrugged helplessly over Sara's shoulder.

"In my suitcase." He answered slowly, not quite understanding the importance of such a matter. Sara walked back out, leaving Catherine to explain:

"She's chasing ghosts."

X x x

By the time the team had tracked Sara to the bedroom she was on her knees rooting through Jim's suitcase. They all watched her intently; fascinated and slightly concerned for her mental state at the current moment.

In amongst his shirts, she found a sea shell.

Without a word, she took off back downstairs, followed by the rest.

"Man, that girl can run!" Nick panted, sprinting down the stairs after her.

"I'm going to put her on a leash!" Catherine growled, clearing the bottom step. The front door was open. "Oh don't tell me she's on the beach!"

X x x

She wasn't.

They found her crouched down next to the murky pond directly below the lounge window.

"Sara, for the love of God, stay still!" Cath gasped, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Does someone want to explain this to me?" Ecklie panted, almost collapsing out of the front door behind the rest.

"We played a game as kids. Leaving treasures as clues to find a personal belonging." She explained again, placing the shell alongside the rest. "That's what they're doing. They're playing."

"Who?" Grissom asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"The children." She stated obviously. He frowned.

"The dead children?" He asked, eyes widening when she confirmed it. He tugged on Catherine's sleeve, pulling her away from the group. "She's serious?"

"Apparently so." Cath threw her arms up. He raised an eyebrow.

"I think we need to get her out of here." Cath glanced back at Sara who, with the help of the guys, was searching around the pond.

"Look, just let her do this. Maybe she needs counselling, I don't know, but right now she needs to feel like she's doing something useful."

"Sara!" Greg called. "I found a tuner." He pulled it out of the water, holding it up curiously.

"The piano." She stated, standing up. Cath turned to Grissom.

"You never know, she might be right." She suggested, following everyone back inside.

She had been joking, but once they got inside her stomach fluttered as they lifted the lid of the piano and found a ceramic doll.

"The playroom." She whispered. Sara smiled.

X x x

Back upstairs, in the children's playroom, Catherine lifted the lid of the wooden toy chest. And there, in the gap where the doll they had should be, was a tin of peaches.

"My peaches." Grissom frowned.

"Where were they?" Nick asked.

"Next to my bed." They went back to the bedroom and next to Grissom's bed was a small wooden box.

"Hold up!" Nick asked just as Sara was about to open it. "So, who the hell is doing this?" He looked from one person to the next, but no one spoke. Sara creaked the box open and peered inside.

"Rope?" Greg asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Porch." Sara answered, heading back to the door.

Through the kitchen was a back porch, where there were rows of rope, hanging from rusted iron hooks like slaughtered fowl.

One hook, third from the left, was missing some rope. In its place, hung a heavy iron key.

X x x

They sat in silence around the dining room table. Sara passed the key from one hand to the other, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Look, someone must be doing this." Ecklie snapped at last.

"They are." Sara answered calmly, not taking her eyes off the key.

"Ghosts aren't real Sara!" He shouted. She sent him a dark look. Catherine snaked her hand into Sara's; a warning not to lose her temper. Not that Ecklie was helping any. "Maybe it's you!" He accused with a smarmy grin.

"Why would I?" She asked tiredly.

"I've been with her 24/7." Catherine pointed out. "Don't you think I would have noticed her rummaging through Jim's socks?"

"Maybe you're in on this too." He snapped.

"Now you're being paranoid." The blonde shook her head.

"Paranoid? Sidle's chasing kleptomaniac ghosts and you're defending her! I think I have good reason to be paranoid." The bald man shouted, beginning to pace.

"Hey! Someone put that stuff there, and it wasn't us. So unless you've got something to confess, we are chasing something and Sara is the only one who knows where to look." Cath defended her friend.

"Hey, guys! Guys! Nick shouted, getting their attention. He pointed to the door, and the flash of brunette hair disappearing around the corner. Cath was the first to react; assuming that Sara was upset at Ecklie's words, taking off after her.

But Sara hadn't even been listening. Her mind was focused on where she had seen that key before.

The chapel.

X x x

As contradictory as it sounds, the ominous silence seemed to echo around the room. This was the first time most of them had been in the chapel, and the shadows and creaks had them spooked.

Sara made a beeline for the lectern. There was a little cupboard in it, with a lock. Catherine had noticed it a few days earlier, but hadn't seen much importance in it at the time.

They all crowded around as Sara slotted the key in. It clicked and crunched, but eventually twisted open.

Nick nearly cried with relief when he saw the contents. His box!

Every interesting article and photo he had found sat in that wooden box, safely tucked away inside the lectern. He took it off Sara and immediately began checking through it.

"It's all here." He sighed gratefully.

"Those ghosts really had you worried, huh?" Warrick joked, slapping him on the back.

"Still got my camera." Greg sulked.

"Ecklie?" Sara's quiet voice drew their attention back. She hadn't moved, but she was holding a manila folder that had been under the box.

Conrad's eyes went wide. His folder.

Sara's face was a picture of confusion; like a lost little girl. Cath stepped next to her, reading the folder. Her blue eyes scanned the first page, and slowly rose to meet Ecklie's.

"You knew."


	21. Sleeper

**Chapter 20**

"Is that why we're here?" Catherine demanded, stepping towards him. Ecklie had not quite recovered enough to answer yet. Fortunately for him he didn't have to, yet, as Sara sprinted past him and out of the chapel. Catherine sent him a look that could kill as she ran after the brunette.

She appeared at the front door in time to see Sara fall down the concrete steps.

X x x

"Oh God!" Cath gasped, practically jumping the last few steps, and crouched next to her fallen friend. Sara sat up slowly, hiccupping sobs racking her slim frame. Catherine wrapped her arms around her back, supporting her against her body.

"Hey, calm down sweetie, calm down." She hushed, trying to slow her frantic breathing down. "It's alright my darling, I've got you." She held her for a moment, letting her calm down enough to breathe properly. She took Sara's shaking hands and began to examine the cuts and grazes. "Oh baby." She whispered.

"He knows?" Sara mumbled at last, seemingly unaware of her injuries. Cath looked at her face; she looked lost. Without thinking, she pulled her colleague into her arms again.

Nick's head popped around the door and his eyes widened when he saw the two girls sat on the floor.

"What happened?" He asked when he spotted the blood on Sara's hands and face.

"She fell." Cath stated, standing up. Nick bounded down the stairs and helped Catherine get her up and walk her back inside.

They guys were just coming into the hall as they got to the staircase, but Nick made a signal to them that Sara was okay and they left the two of them to escort her upstairs.

In the bedroom Sara was sat on Nick's bed (again) and Catherine vanished to get medical supplies while the Texan stayed with his friend. When Cath returned, she crouched in front of her and began cleaning her hands up.

"You do realised this is the second time I have done this for you in a week." She pointed out. "Can we please not try for a third?" Sara half-smiled and Nick chuckled softly.

"Yeah, we want to take you back in one piece." He agreed.

The rest of the guys shuffled in sheepishly, wanting to check everything was alright, but not wanting to crowd the brunette.

"She's fine." Catherine answered their unasked question. "Just a little banged up."

"What happened?" Ecklie asked, hovering nervously at the back. Catherine put down the cloth she was using and fixed him with a very scary look.

"I'll tell you what happened if you explain how you got hold of that file." She said darkly.

"I was sent it." He stumbled.

"By who?" Sara asked, all tears gone now.

"A friend." He answered enigmatically.

"Well, that 'friend' broke the law because my social services file is private and can only be requested with a warrant." Sara pointed out to him. "And I want to know who." With all eyes on him, he realised he had no choice but to 'fess up.

"Alright, when the case first came to light and I got sent the file. I was sent a list of social security numbers for past orphans. Most didn't lead anywhere, but yours did."

"So, you knew I came here. And instead of telling me about this you just brought us here to ... what? Bring back old memories? Haunt me?" Sara asked, getting angry now.

"Hey, I didn't do anything illegal here." He resisted the urge to smirk purely because Catherine had that look in her eyes again.

"No, you just brought her somewhere, under false pretences, and put her in immediate danger!" The blonde snapped, stepping towards him.

"I put her in danger?" He asked.

"Look at her!" Cath yelled, pointing towards her. "We've been here less than a week and so far she's been knocked out with a shovel, damn near drowned and gone head first down a flight of concrete steps!"

"You can't possibly hold me responsible for that?"

"Well I do!"

"Whoa!" Warrick's startled voice ended the argument promptly, as they turned to find Sara collapsed in his arms.

"Oh no!" Cath rushed towards her, feeling her forehead and checking her pulse.

"When she fell did she hit her head?" Sofia asked.

"I don't know?" Cath replied helplessly. "Don't you dare babe, don't you do this now!" As she spoke Sara's eyes blinked open. "Oh thank God!" She gasped, running a hand through Sara's hair. "Don't scare me like that!"

"I think we need a doctor." Grissom said, pulling out his phone.

"No, I'm fine. Just got a little light-headed is all." Sara mumbled, holding onto Catherine and Warrick to keep her balance, even though she was still sat down. Cath began checking for any new head wounds, but couldn't find anything to suggest concussion. She pulled Sara close, holding her tight. The brunette rested her head against her stomach, letting her eyes drift closed. She felt the older woman's breathing lulling her to sleep, and was vaguely aware of a hand running softly through her hair.

X x x

When she awoke, she was in bed, and the room was dark. She looked up. Catherine was sat next to her, holding her, staring into space. When she felt Sara's eyes on her she glanced down and smiled gently.

"Hey sleeping beauty." She whispered. "I thought you were never going to wake up."

"What time is it?"

"Late." Cath shuffled further under the blankets so she was laid down with Sara tucked in her arms. She placed a soft kiss on her lips and nuzzled her face affectionately.

"What was that for?" Sara asked quietly.

"Do I need a reason?" Cath smiled. Sara didn't answer. She didn't know what to say. So instead, she kissed her back.


	22. Everything But The Girl

**Chapter 21**

In the darkness, she felt Catherine's hand ghost up her back. Her touch was soft, almost impossible to feel. Sara applied more pressure to the kiss, and to her relief Catherine responded. She felt Cath's hand move to her sides and her fingertips began caressing the sensitive skin there. Her other hand buried itself in brunette tangles, holding her close. Tongues crept out, tentatively stroking each other.

Though this was new to them both, it felt somehow natural.

Sara rested her hands on Catherine's hips, letting her fingers tease the small of her back. Cath pushed her hips forward, until their bodies were pressed together. She felt Sara's chest rising and falling against her own. Her fingers moved, slipping under the fabric of Sara's bra to touch the skin beneath. At this new contact, Sara gasped, giving Catherine an opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Sara's hands left Cath's hips and began roaming underneath her shirt. The skin was so soft; she was yearning to feel it, to kiss it.

Warrick snored.

Both instinctively pulled their hands back and held their breath. They heard the dark skinned man snuffle and roll over, but he didn't wake up. Their gaze's locked in the darkness. Catherine could see a dark passion burning behind Sara's dark eyes.

"We can't." She whispered at last. Sara didn't speak, just nodded in understanding. Cath repositioned herself so she was half on top of Sara, and the brunette was tucked into the crook of her neck. Holding each other tenderly, they started to drift off. Catherine felt a soft touch on her neck ... and another. "Stop it." She whispered, trying to contain the laughter in her voice. Sara smiled and placed a third kiss on her neck before snuggling into her and falling asleep. "What are you doing to me Sidle?" Cath mumbled softly as she too was claimed by sleep.

X x x

They awoke in much the same position as they fell asleep in, except that Catherine's hand had migrated back under Sara's shirt and made itself comfortable under her bra. Not that Sara seemed to be putting up a fight.

"Morning sunshine." Cath mumbled sleepily, curling into her closer. Sara muttered something incoherent and curled into a ball, resting her head on Catherine's chest. Cath chucked softly, pressing a kiss into Sara's hair. "Time to get up sweetie." She whispered. She got a response that sounded like 'no'. Instead, Cath untangled herself and stood up, leaving Sara to whine and curl up tighter in the middle of the bed. The blonde glanced around – everyone else was still asleep – and whipped the covers off Sara, replacing them with her body. "What will it take to get you up?" She mumbled against her ear, peppering kisses along her neck. She could feel Sara's body responding to her touch, even if her mind wasn't, and smiled into the soft skin.

All of a sudden, she lost control of the situation as Sara's arms shot out and enveloped her stomach, pulling her back onto the bed. Cath yelped as she tumbled on top of Sara completely.

She expected the brunette to kiss her or something, but Sara just snuggled back into her sleeping position, keeping tight hold of Catherine's waist this time.

"Sara!" Cath whined, struggling to get free. She could hear the guys starting to stir now. She flicked her tongue over Sara's ear and whispered; "If you get up now, I'll give you the time of your life in due course." Sara seemed to think about this bargain for a moment, before eventually releasing Cath and getting up herself.

Everyone else, completely oblivious, shuffled into the bathroom and got dressed; exchanging sleepy greetings on the way.

X x x

"So, You and Sara." Brass said casually as he and Catherine shared a pot of coffee in the kitchen. "I guess Sanders' gutter brain wasn't far out huh?" He continued. Catherine stared at him blankly; utter shock seeping into her face. "What? I do sleep next to you guys." He pointed out with a chuckle.

"Oh God!" Cath groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"What? Come on, I've seen and heard worse." He laughed, putting his mug down. "So, you two?" he probed.

"It's ... complicated." She explained, a pink blush spreading across her face.

"Well, it didn't sound it last night." The detective chuckled again, thoroughly enjoying himself at the embarrassed blonde's expense.

"Yeah, that was ... we haven't really had a chance to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's not exactly the sort of conversation I want Grissom to overhear." Cath stated.

"Uh huh." Jim nodded. "You sure that's all it is?" He guessed. Quite accurately judging by her guilty expression.

"Oh Jim, what am I doing?" She sighed. "With everything that's going on in her life, she's not exactly stable right now. I don't want to take advantage of her."

"So, you do want to be with her?" He asked, jokes aside now. Cath shrugged, but the smile that was trying to creep onto her face was answer enough for him.

"I like her. A lot. But..." she paused, gathering her thoughts, "I don't know how she feels. She's vulnerable right now, and I don't know if she's just trying to deal with that, in the wrong way. Because if she is, I can't act on it. I need to help her."

"So what are you doing yapping to me? Go talk to her." He smiled kindly at his friend.

And speak of the devil, the very girl walked in. She smiled at Jim, and sent Catherine a shy grin as she walked past them to the coffee pot. Brass stood up, giving Catherine a signal to go for it. She watched him walk to the door, a lost expression adorning her face. Before leaving, he turned to send her a 'good luck' grin and a wink.

Deciding to bite the bullet, Catherine took a deep breath and stood up. Sara turned around and smiled at her, her eyes flicking briefly to Jim's now empty seat. Cath cleared her throat nervously and reached out for Sara's hand.

"I think we need to talk." She said, cursing herself as soon as the words left her mouth. Why did she start with that?

Sara frowned as she placed her hand in Cath's and let the blonde lead her to the table.

"Last night; I think it's safe to say we crossed a line somewhere." She started, trying to organise her thoughts properly. "Jim heard, by the way."

"I know, I heard you guys talking. These walls are thinner than you'd think." Sara grinned. Catherine's jaw dropped. There was a moment's silence as she tried to re-gather her bearings. She hadn't bargained on that. "You think I'm unstable." Sara stated. There was no anger in her voice, just a hint of sadness.

"No, honey. I don't think that." Catherine sighed, moving around the table so she was next to her. "I just think ... you're vulnerable right now. And if this – us – is your way off dealing with it, then ..."

"It's not." Sara interrupted.

"Okay." Cath answered, having lost her train of thought now. "I just don't want to take advantage of you when you're not thinking straight. And if you wanted to wait a while ... I'd understand." She said softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Sara's ear lovingly.

"So, you like me huh?" Sara asked eventually with a smile. Cath blushed again, nodding.

"But like I said, if you need time, or you don't want to rush anything, I..." Sara cut off her babbling with a sweet kiss.

"I'm fine." She whispered. Catherine smiled, returning the gesture. They broke apart and lapsed into an awkward silence. "I guess we should try to keep some control here, with the guys and everything." Sara said at last.

"Yeah, it's bad enough Jim heard us." Cath laughed nervously. They stared at their joined hands for a moment. "I'm going to call Lindsey again." She said, reluctantly pulling her hand back.

"Okay, tell her I said hey."

"I will." Cath smiled. She was about to leave, but before she got to the door, she paused. Without warning Sara found herself being kissed, hard. "Sorry, couldn't resist." Cath grinned, pecking her lips once more for good measure.


	23. Danny And The Doorknobs

**Chapter 22**

"How's Sara?" Nick asked as they sorted out the evidence they had so far.

"Oh, I think she'll be okay." Jim chuckled. Everyone else frowned in confusion, but it didn't matter anyway because Sara herself walked in.

"Hey, how you doing?" Warrick asked, holding out a hand to help guide her over the mountains of paperwork growing on the floor.

"Good, what's going on?" she asked, chuckling at the sight of them buried in the mounds.

"We're still trying to find something to explain what actually happened here." He explained.

"I just feel like we're missing something." Nick growled, getting frustrated.

"We are." Sara answered; skim reading a piece of paper absently. "We never finished the game."

They all looked up at her in bafflement.

"What? You do seriously think that the 'ghosts' are trying to lead us somewhere?" Ecklie laughed.

"She's right." Catherine defended, appearing in the doorway. Sara sent her a soft smile.

"So what's the next clue?" Nick asked.

"Where's that box?" Sara asked, taking it from him as he held it up. She balanced it carefully as Catherine rummaged through it; flicking through pages and papers hurriedly. Suddenly her hands froze and her face paled. "What's wrong?" Sara asked. Catherine screamed and jumped backwards, falling over a stack of files and landing on her ass.

A small black rat jumped out of the box; launching itself across the room, bouncing off Nick's pile of paper, and scuttling into a hole in the wall.

Everyone stood still in shock. Sara stared dumbly at the box in her hands.

"Beninga Pilar." Catherine mumbled. The stack of files she had tripped over had fallen into her lap, and the top one fell open.

"What?" Grissom asked, manoeuvring his way closer. She held up the file so they could see. There was a small picture affixed with a paper clip. It was slightly faded, but clear enough to see that it was the mystery woman. Cath read it quickly, raising an eyebrow.

"She had a son. Tomas."

"The little boy from the lake." Sofia said quietly.

"She started here in September 1983. When did you leave?"

"February 1984." Sara answered, reading over her shoulder.

"And the orphanage closed down in late summer of 1984."

X x x

They sat around the dining room in silence, papers spread across the table. There was the newspaper article, and the birth certificate, and Beninga's file; amongst others. Nick was staring intently at the photograph of the children.

"You were a cute kid Sar." He said at last. But she wasn't listening. Her gaze was fixed elsewhere. "Sara?" He called again.

"What's that from?" she asked to no-one in particular. They all peered around the table to see what she was looking at.

"It was there the other day, I nearly tripped on it." Greg answered. Sara leant over and picked it up, examining it closely.

"Why would there be a door handle on the floor?" Warrick asked. Cath shrugged, leaning close to Sara to get a better look. She also found she could smell Sara's hair doing this.

"Do you know what it's from?" Grissom asked. Sara shrugged. Ecklie rolled his eyes, but didn't speak. He had gotten the hint that his opinion no longer mattered.

"There are a few doors without handles in this place." Sofia pointed out. "But I haven't seen any other handles that look like that."

X x x

Science. Is a wonderful thing.

They made a mould of the handle, where it attaches to the door; and split up. Grissom, Ecklie, Greg and Warrick took upstairs, Nick, Sara, Catherine and Sofia took downstairs. They checked every missing handle – including cupboards – in the building, which to be fair was a surprising amount, and also checked the pattern of every handle to find one that matched.

Evidently, whoever decorated this place was not into continuity around the house.

After nearly an hour they were coming up empty. Sara and Catherine where just leaving the kitchen when Cath took Sara by surprise, pulling her backwards by her clothes. She pushed her against the wall and kissed her hard. Sara stumbled, grabbing Cath's waist, for balance more than anything.

"What was that?" Sara gasped when Cath pulled back and smirked at her.

"Felt like it." She grinned, leaning in again. Sara cast a quick glance to the side but no-one was there. They were behind the stairs, in view of the dining room only. Satisfied that they were safe, Sara kissed her back, letting her hands wander this time. As the kiss deepened, Catherine stepped closer still, pressing Sara's back into the wall.

Until the wall opened.

They fell backwards, landing in a heap on the floor, as decades old junk tumbled atop them.

"Ow!" Catherine yowled as an umbrella landed on her ass. Nick and Sofia's head's popped around the door, raising an eyebrow at Cath and Sara's position.

"You ladies having fun down there?" Nick joked.

"I found it." Sara stated, not listening. Cath sat up, so she was straddling Sara's thighs, and looked up at what her girlfriend was seeing. Behind the door they had fallen through there was another door ... minus the handle. Nick held the handle out to her and she shifted position slightly to see what she was doing.

The others from upstairs had heard them clattering into the storage cupboard, and come down to investigate. Brass chuckled when he saw the girls – but then he had a good idea of how they got there.

They all watched as Sara reached up and slotted the handle in, twisting it into place. It fit.

Almost reluctantly, Catherine stood up, pulling Sara up with her. They were dusty, but seemingly unharmed.

Nick stepped forward, nudging the secret door slightly. It didn't move. He pushed it again, harder this time, and it creaked open. They could see a wooden staircase, leading into a murky blackness.

Flashlights clicked on and they set off, one by one, into the basement.

Nick led, followed by the girls, whose hands were locked between them, Grissom, Sofia, Ecklie, Greg and Warrick bringing up the rear.

"I wish I had my camera." Greg muttered glumly as the steps creaking beneath them.

At the bottom all they could see were vague shapes in the darkness. They blinked, and just as their eyes began to adjust, Warrick found the light switch.

All of a sudden the room was illuminated. It was hardly bright, but light enough to see.

As their eyes scanned the room things began to fit into place.

This was a bedroom.

Tomas' bedroom.


	24. Poison

**Warning - very dark themes**

**x x x x**

**Chapter 23**

Sara fled back upstairs, followed closely by Catherine.

She burst out of the back door, emptying her stomach into the nearest hedge. Cath crouched down behind her, holding her hair back and whispering soft words to her.

Finally, Sara sat back, leaning her head against Catherine's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She choked out.

"Shush, none of that." Cath chastised gently. "Not your fault." She wrapped her arms around Sara's stomach, holding her tightly.

"Why?" Sara asked when her breathing had calmed down. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know baby." Cath hummed against her ear, peppering kisses on her cheek.

Grissom interrupted the tender moment, poking his head out of the back door.

"Sara? Are you okay?" He asked, looking between the two women.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She insisted, walls rocketing back into place like a bullet. She stood up and walked back inside, avoiding eye contact with them both. Grissom started to follow her, but Cath caught his arm.

"Hey, did you know too?" She asked. He frowned.

"Know what?"

"That Sara came here. Ecklie knew, did he tell you?" She had wanted to ask when the file first came to light, but had gotten distracted when Sara fell down the stairs.

"No! I wouldn't have brought her here if I did." He insisted insolently. Cath scrutinised him for a moment, deciding whether or not she believed him.

X x x

When they returned to the basement, Sara was already there. She was leaning over the small desk, examining the childish pictures stuck up on the wall. Children playing. In every picture there was a little child with a sack over his head and the word 'Tomas' on his shirt.

"He had facial deformations." Nick said behind her, making her jump.

"So they locked him in the basement." She sighed, trying not to cry again.

"Guys." Warrick held up a small hessian sack with two eye holes roughly cut out. Catherine sighed, shaking her head softly. "Do you remember ever seeing a kid with this on?" He asked, but Sara wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the pictures. Her fingertips grazed them lightly, tears stinging at her eyes. Warrick was about to speak again but Cath shook her head, a sign to leave her alone.

"Hey, look what I got." Greg said, stumbling out from under the stairs with a small cardboard box. He balanced it unsteadily on one arm, using the other to take out a dusty old video cassette. "Anyone up for home movies?"

X x x

"Hey," Catherine's voice startled Sara out of her reverie. She looked up; sitting crossed legged on her bed, and smiled. "You okay?" Cath asked, wrapping her arms around Sara's waist. The brunette nodded, not speaking. "Hmm?" the older woman pressed, nuzzling the back of her neck.

"Stomach ache." Sara mumbled eventually. Cath rested her hands on her stomach, pulling her close, and kissed her forehead.

"You don't have to do this, if you don't want."

"I want to." She whispered, leaning into Catherine's embrace.

"Alright, it's all set up." Nick called. They all gathered around the TV screen, huddled in pairs and threes on the closest beds. Nicky pushed the first video into the machine and scuttled to sit down.

The image flickered and hissed a little, before settling down. The camera was unsteady at first, tilting and moving until the picture evened out and came into focus.

Children in grey pinafores and shorts were running around on the grass outside the front doors. There was a little girl walking with a frame, but it didn't seem to be affecting her fun. They were all laughing and playing merrily.

At one point a little girl with dark hair and dark eyes turned and smiled at the camera. Subconsciously, everyone in the room smiled back as they recognised their friend in her eyes. On film, little Sara ran off and stumbled, nearly fell over.

"_Stai attento Bella"_ A distorted voice was heard from behind the camera. Catherine sent Sara a sideways glance.

"Bella?"

"Nickname." Sara answered absently, her eyes glued to the screen, oblivious to the sly grins she received from the others.

The video was short and sweet. Just lots of images of children playing.

The next one showed a party of sorts. There were more children here this time, all dressed up and wearing masks.

"The orphanage ran open days to raise money." Sara explained. They watched the chaos as kids scuttled here, there and everywhere. "Pause it!" Sara shouted suddenly. Nick hit the button instinctively. She scooted closer to the screen, staring intently at it. She pointed at the far corner of the screen. One by one they all saw what had caught her attention. "He was there." She whispered.

At the top of the stairs, away from the other kids, was a little boy in a sack mask. Tomas.

Nick hit play again, and the camera zoomed in on Tomas. Suddenly a woman they all recognised as Beninga appeared and ushered him back inside. The camera panned back to the crowd, who were oblivious to the little boy in the mask.

X x x

"You alright babe?" Cath asked, sitting next to Sara on the top step of the stairs. They had taken a brief bathroom break from watching the home movies and Cath noticed Sara had not come back.

"I never even saw him." She answered distantly.

"I think that was their intention." Catherine answered sadly. "It's not your fault."

"I know. I just ..." She trailed off, not sure what she wanted to say. Cath knelt in front of her on the stairs and gave her a hug.

"Starting again!" Nick hollered for everyone to return.

"Come on, I want to see more of you in that cute little dress." Cath grinned, tugging her back to the room. "Bella." She added with a smirk.

With everyone returned, the next movie was put in. But this was not like the rest. This was no home movie.

This was a torture video.

The image was dark and fuzzy, but even that didn't blur the horror on screen.

Six children laid in bed; pale, starved and crying in pain.

The person behind the camera walked over to one, leaning over them.

"Martin." Sara choked quietly, tears streaming down her face.

"_Please don't!"_ The little girl yelped as something was seen to be poured down her throat. _"No more!" _

"She poisoned them." Catherine mumbled, trying her hardest not to cry and failing miserably.

"_Help us."_


	25. Guns 'n' Roses

**One more chapter to go :) **

**x x x x**

**Chapter 24**

"_We're sorry! We didn't mean it." _The children continued to wail mercifully as the person behind the camera continued to force the poison down their throats. Judging by the lethargic, wasted appearance of the children this was a long, torturous process. Nick stopped it, unable to watch any more. He wiped furiously at his eyes, making them red and swollen.

"We're sorry?" Warrick repeated. "We didn't mean it."

"Tomas' death?" Sofia guessed uncertainly. "Presuming the person in the video was Beninga.

"Tomas was killed playing on the beach ... with other children." Grissom said slowly, thinking it through. "But he was usually kept away from other children. So..."

"Maybe he got out." Brass theorised. "He obviously could, we saw him."

"So he gets out, and goes to the beach. Then what?" Cath asked.

"Maybe he got freaked out and hid in the cave." Sara suggested, trying to stop the river of tears from her eyes.

"Or maybe he was chased into the cave." Grissom added, catching her gaze. "The other children had never seen him, right? So, kids are curious, they would have wanted to know who he was and ..."

"And why his face was covered." Sara finished. "He knew he wasn't supposed to be out, and that he was different from them. So he hid in the cave until they left him alone."

"And got trapped." Sofia finished.

"Beninga must have blamed them for her son's death, so she killed them." Nick said, tears building in his eyes again, despite his best efforts.

"It wasn't their fault." Sara choked, beginning to cry again. "They were just children." Catherine pulled her into a tight hug, burying her face in sweet smelling brunette curls. Warrick reached across and rested a caring hand on Sara's back.

Of its own accord, the video ejected itself.

They were done.

X x x

With the case solved, Ecklie took the evidence back to the San Francisco lab, with Grissom in tow this time. He had been looking forward to meeting 'George'.

This left the others to entertain themselves at the orphanage for one last day.

Sara was sat on the wall of the front steps. Catherine clambered up next to her and took her hand. Sara didn't avert her gaze, but smiled contentedly. They sat like that in silence, watching the guys and Sofia playing football on the grass.

Neither said it, but they could feel something different today. It was lighter, brighter. As if reading Catherine's mind, Sara spoke.

"This is what it used to be like." Cath glanced sideways at her. She was smiling. She leant over and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Nick glanced up in time to see the moment. He chuckled softly, shaking his head.

Upstairs, Brass was packing his things up. He picked up a jacket off the floor...

And out fell his socks.

He stared at them dumbly for a moment. One eyebrow went up and his eyes darted from one side of the room to the other.

"Thank you. Much appreciated."

X x x

Catherine had hopped off the wall to join the guys' game, but Sara had declined, opting to sit and watch. Despite being shocking at football, Catherine was having a great time. She turned to smile at Sara, but her girlfriend was staring straight ahead, eyes wide. Cath turned to see what she was looking at, and dropped the football.

"Cath?" Warrick asked, stepping up to her.

"Call the police." She said. They were about to ask why, but she took off towards Sara. The guys realised what was going on and Sofia pulled out her cell.

Cath reached Sara, who was not moving. Just staring, eyes locked with Beninga's.

She recognised her now. That cold glare; distant, detached voice. She remembered.

Slowly, almost naturally, she lifted a gun to her head and fired.

Sara didn't even flinch. She sat motionless and watched Beninga commit suicide from across the garden, as if her unconscious mind had expected it to end this way.

As police sirens wailed in the distance, and the guys sprinted towards the dead body, Sara stood up and calmly walked inside.

Now, it was over.

X x x

"Case closed." Ecklie sighed, falling into bed.

The rest of the day had flown by, with statements and police and everything else to do.

They were all exhausted and pretty much collapsed into sleep.

Catherine woke up in the middle of the night to find Sara missing from her arms. She sat up and glanced around the room. A dark figure by the window caught her attention.

"Sara." She mumbled tiredly, walking over to her.

"It works." The brunette muttered.

"What does love?" Cath sighed, enveloping her in a lazy hug from behind.

"The lighthouse." Sara stated. Cath looked around her, and sure enough a bright stream of light glistened across the crystal water.

"It didn't work yesterday." Cath frowned, not understanding. Sara turned to face her, a content smile gracing her lips. She kissed Catherine softly, pulling her back to bed.

X x x

The next morning the sun shone down on them as they packed their bags onto the coach. Once again, Sara had disappeared from Catherine's side. The blonde spun in a circle looking for her. Unsurprisingly, she found her staring out to see at the cliff edge.

"Time to go sweetheart." She said softly, approaching her.

"Okay."

"You miss it here." Cath guessed when Sara made no attempt to move.

"Not anymore." The older woman noticed a bunch of hand-picked roses in Sara's hand. Seven, to be precise. One for every child who died here. She cast them into the breeze, letting it carry them onto the beach, where they would be washed away into the ocean. Cath smiled sadly, taking her hand.

"Come on my mermaid." She whispered, tugging her away.

"You remembered." Sara mumbled amusedly, through her tears.

X x x

They clambered onto the bus, each casting a final glance at the house. It suddenly looked less forbidding then when they arrived.

As Greg glanced backwards, his eye caught something. "One second!" He called, hopping off and sprinting across the grass.

"Greg!" Grissom huffed impatiently, checking his watch. When the lab rat returned he was practically giggling.

With a proud grin, he held up his precious camera.


	26. Epilogue

**Finito! Hope y'all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :) Let me know what you thought x**

**x x x x**

**Epilogue**

There was a unanimous sigh of relief as the rickety coach trundled into the lab parking lot. One at a time they sleepily stepped off the bus, squinting at the bright Nevada dawn.

It felt good to be back.

Sara was the first to head towards the building, followed closely by Catherine, who collared her by the sleeve.

Nick nudged Warrick and pointed at them.

"Bet you a bill those two kiss." He offered. Warrick stared at him dumbly.

"What?"

"I'm serious man."

"Cath and Sara?" Warrick clarified. "Alright, I need some new shoes anyway." He agreed, shaking on it. They watched the girls intently from a distance, while being watched by Sofia who found this whole scene hilarious.

Though they couldn't hear what was being said between the girls, they strained closer anyway. They could see Cath nodded softly at something Sara had said, and Sara smiled. The brunette started to walk away, and Nick's face fell. But Cath was his saving grace. To the utmost shock of Warrick, Catherine caught Sara's hand and pulled her back for a quick, albeit definitive kiss.

Warrick's jaw dropped.

"I guess breakfast's on you huh, bro." Nick grinned, slapping him on the back cheerfully.

"No way." Warrick gasped in disbelief, chuckling at the sight before him. Sara had gone into the lab and Cath ambled back over. She directed a puzzled frown at Warrick and Sofia, who was nearly crying with laughter.

"Man, if only Greg had seen that!" Sofia chuckled. "Would have been the best footage he got all week."

X x x x

Sara was not the only one who had headed into the lab. Grissom was sat in his office, with his beloved tin of peaches. Ever since the ghosts got their translucent hands on them, he had kept them safe under his bed.

And now, in the privacy of his office, he did what he had wanted to do all week. He opened them.

"Wow." He whispered, staring into the can with childlike wonder.

"Oh good, you're here." Ecklie declared, letting himself in unannounced. "I wanted to talk to you about ..."

"That's nice," Grissom interrupted him. "I wanted to talk to you too." He cleared his throat, putting his peaches down. "I want that file back." He stated, calmly and clearly.

"Okay, it's in my office." Ecklie agreed.

"How did you get it? It was supposed to come to me." Gil continued, fixing him with a distasteful look.

"It arrived on my desk one day; someone must have mixed up our offices. Somehow." He frowned, glancing around uneasily. "I was going to pass it on to you, but it was your day off."

"Well how kind of you. Except I never saw it." Grissom pointed out, leaning forward. "In future, my mail comes to me."

"I saw it was about Sara, I was just checking that there was nothing I needed to know. She does work in my lab, you know." Ecklie insisted, starting to get uncomfortable under Bugman's gaze.

"It had nothing to do with you. That information was confidential."

"So why did you request it?" The bald man countered, smirking when Grissom paused.

"Sara confided something in me and I wanted to see if there was anything she hadn't told me. I was worried about her." He explained at last. "And I would have been able to check she was okay if you had just given me my file."

"Did Sidle know you were requesting her 'confidential' social services file?" He asked. Grissom didn't answer. "Well, I won't tell her if you don't." He smirked, standing up. "Unless of course, you want her to know..."

Grissom scowled up at him darkly. "Good." Ecklie grinned, turning to leave. He got as far as the door but stopped in the threshold. "Gil, what _is_ that smell?"

X x x x

After a team breakfast (on Warrick) everyone spilt off and headed home. Most went straight to bed but Brass decided to unpack first.

As he unzipped his case, the first thing he saw were his socks, curled up neatly in the corner. He picked them up and, for reasons unknown, unrolled a pair. And out of them dropped a small piece of paper, on which was written one name.

Now, Jim Brass was not a man who had ever believed in matters of the supernatural signs. But after the last week, his opinion had changed somewhat.

Abandoning his clothes, he picked up the phone, waiting for a sleepy voice to answer.

"Ellie, it's your dad."

X x x

Sara and Catherine hadn't gone straight to bed either. In the parking lot, Catherine had asked Sara to come back to her's and Sara had agreed.

When they got inside, Cath immediately went to check on her sleeping daughter and mother.

Returning downstairs, she was met with a sight that made her heart melt. Sara was curled up on her couch, eyes closed, with a mug of hot tea waiting for Catherine. She sat down and stroked Sara's cheek softly, waking her up.

"Hey little miss sleepy," she whispered. Sara smiled tiredly, rearranging herself so her head was resting against Cath's shoulder. "Tough week huh?"

"Yeah. Never thought I'd have to go there again." She sighed. Cath wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

"You did really well." She hummed against Sara's head. "I'm so proud of you." They sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's peaceful company.

"You know you still owe me dinner, right?" Cath joked. "After all, we did share a bed several times." Sara nodded sleepily, not really listening.

"You know what I said in the parking lot," Sara said eventually, looking up. "I did mean it. I really do want this, I just ..."

Cath placed a finger over her lips.

"Shush, I know sweetie. And I meant what I said. We will take this as fast or as slow as you want." She promised, sealing it with a gentle kiss. "Do you want to stay?" she asked, nuzzling her neck. Sara seemed to think about this for a second.

"How many dinners is it going to cost me?" She asked with a cheeky smile.

"Hmm, how about a late," she checked her watch, "very late, breakfast and a kiss?" Cath bargained. "And I'll even let you decide which side of the bed you want." She joked playfully.

"Ah Catherὶn," Sara grinned. "Ecco perché io vi amo" she leant forward a placed a kiss on Cath's lips. Catherine frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Sara just smiled.

In the bedroom, with the lights dimmed, she carefully undressed Sara, letting her hands roam across the scarred body tenderly.

"You're so beautiful." She whispered, placing a kiss on her chest. "My Bella." She added, with a little grin.

Slowly, she felt Sara start to relax, and guided her over to the bed. There, she kissed her, enveloping the brunette with her own body.

They took it no further, just laid in each other's arms, feeling the soft skin and the gentle curves moulding together.

And as the sun rose over Las Vegas, and seven red roses washed out to sea, Catherine whispered the words Sara had longed to hear.

X x x

Greg wasn't sleeping either. He was sat up in bed, going through his camera footage. There was a lot he knew of: the journey there and the first few days, but then it got weird.

All of a sudden the focus blurred, and then came exceptionally clear. He could hear childish laughter; but it was distorted, as if caught on the wind. The picture started to become clearer still.

There were children. Six of them.

A little girl with a frame was running alongside her friends. A little boy, taller than the rest and wearing a hearing aid, played rough and tumble with another boy.

They all looked happy, and free.

He could see the background now. It was filmed outside the house – he could even see their busted-up coach parked in the corner.

He watched the children playing, mesmerised.

Suddenly the picture fuzzed out, and when it came back, they were on the beach. The camera panned across them all as they waved with big smiles. The camera turned around, and another face entered the picture. A little boy with disfigured facial features smiled at Greg. It was a grateful smile of pure innocence.

The camera was placed on the ground.

The last thing Greg saw was the children, seven little children healthy as could be – not a frame or hearing aid to be seen. They linked hands and ran towards the tide.

As they reached the ocean, Tomas turned back once more, and smiled, before they disappeared into the crystal blue sea.


End file.
